BSc (Honours) Hospitality Business...
77
Faculty of Organisation and Management BSc (Honours) Hospitality Business Management Title: How service quality of McDonald's in Hong Kong that affect its customer satisfaction of youths Name: CHAN ZI MAI, ANGEL Student No: 91203404 Month Year April 2009
Transcript of BSc (Honours) Hospitality Business...
Faculty of Organisation and Management
BSc (Honours) Hospitality Business
Management
Title How service quality of McDonalds in Hong Kong that affect its customer
satisfaction of youths
Name CHAN ZI MAI ANGEL
Student No 91203404
Month Year April 2009
1
Sheffield Hallam University
Faculty of Organisation and Management
Title How service quality of McDonalds in Hong Kong that affect its customer
satisfaction of youths
FULL NAME CHAN ZI MAI ANGEL
STUDENT No 91203404
Supervisor Miss Dorothy Tsui
In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in
Hospitality Business Management
Month Year April 2009
2
Acknowledgements
I would like to take this great opportunity to thank people who have helped me a lot
during this study First of all I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Miss Dorothy Tsui
and Professor Kevin Nield Miss Tsui always replied the E-mail so quickly and answered
my questions with patience She gave me direction when I felt lost Professor Kevin Nield
has given me clear guidelines regarding the dissertation
On the other hand I would to thank Dr Mok who taught me the knowledge about
statistics and how to use the SPSS software With her help I was able to use the SPSS
software to analyze the results of the questionnaires It was a valuable and unforgettable
experience to use SPSS software I believe this experience will continue to benefit me in
the future
In fact I would to thank all the respondents who spared their precious time and
completed the questionnaires Without their help I could not finish my dissertation I would
like to thank Professor Pine and Mr John Perry who have provided reference exercises to
me I have learnt a lot form the exercises
Finally I want to thank my sister Miss Fanny Chan who always supported me to go
on studying and helped me to proof read the dissertation
3
Abstract
Nowadays people care more about service quality and this directly affects customer
satisfaction Many organizations do whatever they can to provide high service quality in
order to enhance customer satisfaction This dissertation is written to examine how
service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its customer satisfaction and it can
enhance customer satisfaction through improving its service quality from the youthsrsquo point
of view
In order to gather more opinions from youths the questionnaire was set based on
three important theories Gap model (Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL
(Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) and Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980)
152 questionnaires were completed by the target group and they were asked questions
about demographic data and attitudes towards service quality and customer satisfaction
using 28 attributes
The findings indicated that there was a positive relationship of service quality and
customer satisfaction If the youths felt that service quality was good they have high level
of satisfaction They claimed that the best quality of service provided by McDonaldrsquos was
convenience which was measured by ldquoTransportationrdquo and ldquoAccessibilityrdquo Also youths
were mostly satisfied with these two attributes On the other hand the target group
claimed that the worst quality of services provided by McDonaldrsquos were ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo
and ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo Meanwhile respondents in different sexes had
different level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than that of males
Lastly several solutions were suggested to improve the service quality of
McDonaldrsquos and enhance customer satisfaction
4
List of Tables Page
Table 21 Number of Restaurants of Hong Konghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methodshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip43
Table 41 The characteristic of respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip49
Table 42 The reasons of respondents go to McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip51
Table 43 The attitudes of respondents to exiting services of McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphellip51
Table 44 The mean and standard deviation of performancehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip53-54
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)helliphelliphelliphelliphellip57
5
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip63
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip64
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributeshelliphelliphelliphellip66
List of Figures Page
Figure 21 Customer Satisfaction Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22
Figure 22 Gap Model of Service Qualityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip27
Figure 23 Definitions of Service Quality Dimensionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28
Finger 41 Relationships Between Service Quality and Level of Customer
Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip60
Figure 42 Priorities for Improvement of McDonaldshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip62
6
Contents
Page
Acknowledgementhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipi
Abstracthelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipii-iii
List of Tableshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipiv
List of Figureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipv
Contentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipvi-viii
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Informationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip1-4
12 Aimshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip5
13 Objectiveshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip5
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Foodhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6-8
212 McDonaldrsquos Corporationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9
213 McDonaldrsquos Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limitedhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10
7
214 Mission Statement of McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11-12
22 The Characteristics of Youthshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 13-14
23 Definitions
231 Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15-16
232 Qualityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17
233 Service Qualitieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18-19
234 Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20-22
24 Characteristics of Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip23-24
25 Measuring service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25-27
252 SERVQUALhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28-29
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip30-31
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip32-33
32 Primary Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34
321 Quantitative Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35
322 Pilot Testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36
33 Secondary Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37
34 Descriptive Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38
35 Data Collection
351 Primary Datahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39
352 Secondary Datahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Designhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40-41
362 Population and Sampleshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42-43
363 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44
37 Reliability and Validity of the Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip45
38 Limitationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip46
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47-51
8
42 The Performance of Service Quality52-55
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 55-57
44 Attributes for improvementhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 58-60
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphellip61-62
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of
Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip63-64
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip65-66
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 67-68
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 69-71
53 Further Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip72
Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 73-83
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnairehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip84-88
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Testshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip89-90
9
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Information
Nowadays customer satisfaction is becoming more and more important because it is
very useful for companies It is not only helping companies to retain existing customers
but also capture new customers As a result companies do whatever they can to improve
their customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a key element for contemporary
organizations to deliver high quality products and service as well as to position firms
competitively in the marketplace (Chan and Baum 2007) In the ever-increasing
competitive environment one of the most important tasks for managers is to focus on
guest satisfaction because happy guests are returning customers and they will spread
positive advertising through word of mouth as a form of free marketing In doing so the
mangers must understand how their guests evaluate experiences and what service quality
attributes lead to guest satisfaction before strategizing approaches to improve guest
satisfaction
Contrary to the cognitive focus of customer satisfaction service quality is also a key
objective for companies to survive in todayrsquos increasingly competitive economic
environment Service quality can affect customer satisfaction higher service quality leads
to higher customer satisfaction and thus results in higher repeat purchases cross-selling
and positive word of-mouth communicationsmdashall of which help the business firms achieve
higher sales revenues profits and market shares (Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008)
Management of the organizations does recognize the importance of delivering high-quality
services until starting from the 90rsquos Hong Kong started to strongly promote the
importance of service quality For example the authority used famous artist Andy Lau as
a spokesman in a series of advertisements to bring out the message ldquowhat service should
like todayrdquo to inform the importance of service (You Tube 2006) In the TV commercials it
showed that people became more caring about the service quality
10
Recently customer satisfaction and service quality are hot topics for many
researches (Bowen 2001 Choi amp Chu 2001 Gary and Gary 2007) However there is no
one particular article that can thoroughly state how service quality affects customer
satisfaction Therefore this research is interested in finding out the relationship between
service quality and customer satisfaction and how service quality affects customer
satisfaction
On the other hand McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-
service food industry (Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) Wherever you are you can get what
you want from McDonaldrsquos consistent service and food quality In the past people went to
McDonaldrsquos because they thought that it could fill them and it could save time Nowadays
the major goal of McDonaldrsquos was still to provide fast service However people now have
more expectations for McDonaldrsquos When customers dine at McDonaldrsquos time efficiency
and getting themselves filled were not the sole considerations they would also consider
whether the level of service quality achieve their perception or not and whether it was
value for money This was due to the change of social culture such as education and
lifestyle Higher education background makes people concern more about the quality of
products they purchase and they would like to enjoy more service in the purchasing
experience
In order to face the changing needs of customers McDonaldrsquos is changing its
strategies from time to time in Hong Kong also It has to be more flexible To lead the
competing edge nowadays providing appropriate service becomes the most important
element Now McDonaldrsquos does not only talk about the ways to deliver the food but also
customer service Fast serving quality food and appropriate customer service are the
elements to success in this fast food industry nowadays The determining element is
whether the customers --- the youths are satisfied with what the restaurants provide or
not According to a survey published in IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns
Yearbook 2002 about 685 of males aging from 16 to 24 purchased fast food in the past
11
three months and about 77 of females from the same age group purchased fast food in
the past three months (Wong 2002) It showed youths were the largest group of
customers of McDonalds
Therefore researcher is interested in finding out how McDonalds satisfy its
customers What is the most important element affecting the satisfaction of youths Is it
service quality These are the reasons why researcher wants to study this topic and
choose McDonaldrsquos as the target organization
This study is organized into five sections with an introduction to the study provided in
this section the next section delves into a discussion of a service quality and customer
satisfaction concept and its measurement Research methodology used in the study and
the results are discussed next The final section sums up the discussion and provides
recommendations for McDonaldrsquos to improve Customer Satisfaction
12 Aims
From the youthsrsquo point of view to examine how service quality of Hong Kong
McDonalds affects its customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction
through service quality enhancement
13 Objectives
- To understand what is service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the youthsrsquo customer behavior so as to examine their satisfaction to the
service quality of McDonalds
12
- To study how to measure service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the importance of service quality to customer satisfaction of
McDonalds and provides recommendations to McDonalds
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Food
The term fast food was recognized in a dictionary by Merrian-Webster in 1951
(Wikipedia 2009) There are different ways to define fast food without single definition or
interpretation (Ball 1992) Fast food is defined as hot freshly prepared and wrapped food
items served to customers across a counter or through a drive-up window (Encyclopedia
of Food and Culture 2003) In other words fast food is convenient food that can be
prepared and served very quickly
Meanwhile fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and is often associated with unhealthy
image because the unwholesome ingredients contained Scott-Moncrieff (1999) states
that meals from fast food outlets usually containe over amount of salt fat chemical
additive preservatives and sugar and are insufficient in fiber It is equal to cheap food and
13
criticized as creating health problems such as obesity in human lives (Lobstein 1988
Ritzer 2001)
Nevertheless still many people consume fast food According to Schlosser (2001)
consumers spent about US$110 billion on fast food in the United States alone in 2000
That is said that about 200 people in the United States ordered one or more hamburgers
in every second On the other hand Chinarsquos fast food industry developed at a rate of over
20 annually in the 1990s much faster than the 78 annual increase in Chinarsquos gross
domestic product (Wong 2002) By the year 2000 fast food had become the biggest and
most attractive profit opportunity in Chinarsquos commodity and labor markets with an annual
turnover of over 200 billion Yuan (Wong 2002) All these can show that fast food has
grown remarkably both in developed countries and developing countries and quick
service restaurants became a driving force in the overall food service industry
Ball (1992) suggests that fast food is a worldwide phenomenon with more and more
people having consumed the fast food products both in their own country and abroad
Renowned as the culinary capital of Asia Hong Kong boasts more than 11000
restaurants many of them clustered in defined food districts (Hong Kong Tourism Board
2008) People can eat anything they want in Hong Kong The history of Hong Kong fast
food industry can be traced back to 1970rsquos when McDonalds entered the Hong Kong fast
food market In the past two decades because of the changes in food consumption
patterns Hong Kong people became used to fill the stomach with fast food as their part of
their lives
The fast food market in Hong Kong is very competitive featuring a variety of chains
and choice of both Western and Chinese cuisine The fast food shop in Hong Kong
includes general restaurants and food factory with full licenses (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007) According to the same department the fast food shops
increased year by year from 10980 fast food shops in 2004 to 11793 of that in
14
2007(refer to table 21) There are more and more competitors entering this market
Therefore the fast food market in Hong Kong becomes very competitive
Table 21 Number of Fast food shops of Hong Kong
Year 2007 2006 2005 2004
Number of Fast food shops 11793 11703 11431 10980
Source Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007)
212 McDonalds Corporation
McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-service food industry
(Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) From the Business Week (2009) McDonaldrsquos was
ranking in the 8th in 2007 brand rank
At the beginning McDonalds was a neighborhood restaurant only established in Des
Plaines Illinois Raymond Kroc (1902-1984) acquired franchising rights from the
McDonald brothers He then founded McDonalds Corporation in 1955 Nowadays
McDonalds has more than 31000 restaurants in more than 120 countries worldwide and
15
serve nearly 54 million customers each day (McDonalds Corporation 2008) It achieved a
significant market presence in terms of number of restaurants turnover and market share
213 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited was established in 1975 After rapidly
expanding today there are over 200 McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong and more
than 10000 McDonalds staff (McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong 2008)
McDonalds sells high quality hygienically prepared food at affordable prices and
gives speedy and courteous services It serves the world some of its favorite foods such
as French Fries Big Mac Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin
McDonalds brought the McCafeacute to Hong Kong in 1999 (McDonalds Corporation of
Hong Kong 2008) They aimed to provide a relax environment for dinning and put their
focus on the office guys students teens etc McCafeacute offers a wide variety of cakes
pastries and muffins as well as specialty coffee and tea
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
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Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
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at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
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httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
1
Sheffield Hallam University
Faculty of Organisation and Management
Title How service quality of McDonalds in Hong Kong that affect its customer
satisfaction of youths
FULL NAME CHAN ZI MAI ANGEL
STUDENT No 91203404
Supervisor Miss Dorothy Tsui
In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in
Hospitality Business Management
Month Year April 2009
2
Acknowledgements
I would like to take this great opportunity to thank people who have helped me a lot
during this study First of all I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Miss Dorothy Tsui
and Professor Kevin Nield Miss Tsui always replied the E-mail so quickly and answered
my questions with patience She gave me direction when I felt lost Professor Kevin Nield
has given me clear guidelines regarding the dissertation
On the other hand I would to thank Dr Mok who taught me the knowledge about
statistics and how to use the SPSS software With her help I was able to use the SPSS
software to analyze the results of the questionnaires It was a valuable and unforgettable
experience to use SPSS software I believe this experience will continue to benefit me in
the future
In fact I would to thank all the respondents who spared their precious time and
completed the questionnaires Without their help I could not finish my dissertation I would
like to thank Professor Pine and Mr John Perry who have provided reference exercises to
me I have learnt a lot form the exercises
Finally I want to thank my sister Miss Fanny Chan who always supported me to go
on studying and helped me to proof read the dissertation
3
Abstract
Nowadays people care more about service quality and this directly affects customer
satisfaction Many organizations do whatever they can to provide high service quality in
order to enhance customer satisfaction This dissertation is written to examine how
service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its customer satisfaction and it can
enhance customer satisfaction through improving its service quality from the youthsrsquo point
of view
In order to gather more opinions from youths the questionnaire was set based on
three important theories Gap model (Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL
(Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) and Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980)
152 questionnaires were completed by the target group and they were asked questions
about demographic data and attitudes towards service quality and customer satisfaction
using 28 attributes
The findings indicated that there was a positive relationship of service quality and
customer satisfaction If the youths felt that service quality was good they have high level
of satisfaction They claimed that the best quality of service provided by McDonaldrsquos was
convenience which was measured by ldquoTransportationrdquo and ldquoAccessibilityrdquo Also youths
were mostly satisfied with these two attributes On the other hand the target group
claimed that the worst quality of services provided by McDonaldrsquos were ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo
and ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo Meanwhile respondents in different sexes had
different level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than that of males
Lastly several solutions were suggested to improve the service quality of
McDonaldrsquos and enhance customer satisfaction
4
List of Tables Page
Table 21 Number of Restaurants of Hong Konghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methodshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip43
Table 41 The characteristic of respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip49
Table 42 The reasons of respondents go to McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip51
Table 43 The attitudes of respondents to exiting services of McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphellip51
Table 44 The mean and standard deviation of performancehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip53-54
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)helliphelliphelliphelliphellip57
5
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip63
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip64
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributeshelliphelliphelliphellip66
List of Figures Page
Figure 21 Customer Satisfaction Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22
Figure 22 Gap Model of Service Qualityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip27
Figure 23 Definitions of Service Quality Dimensionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28
Finger 41 Relationships Between Service Quality and Level of Customer
Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip60
Figure 42 Priorities for Improvement of McDonaldshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip62
6
Contents
Page
Acknowledgementhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipi
Abstracthelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipii-iii
List of Tableshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipiv
List of Figureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipv
Contentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipvi-viii
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Informationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip1-4
12 Aimshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip5
13 Objectiveshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip5
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Foodhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6-8
212 McDonaldrsquos Corporationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9
213 McDonaldrsquos Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limitedhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10
7
214 Mission Statement of McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11-12
22 The Characteristics of Youthshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 13-14
23 Definitions
231 Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15-16
232 Qualityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17
233 Service Qualitieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18-19
234 Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20-22
24 Characteristics of Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip23-24
25 Measuring service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25-27
252 SERVQUALhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28-29
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip30-31
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip32-33
32 Primary Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34
321 Quantitative Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35
322 Pilot Testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36
33 Secondary Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37
34 Descriptive Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38
35 Data Collection
351 Primary Datahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39
352 Secondary Datahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Designhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40-41
362 Population and Sampleshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42-43
363 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44
37 Reliability and Validity of the Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip45
38 Limitationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip46
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47-51
8
42 The Performance of Service Quality52-55
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 55-57
44 Attributes for improvementhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 58-60
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphellip61-62
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of
Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip63-64
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip65-66
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 67-68
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 69-71
53 Further Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip72
Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 73-83
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnairehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip84-88
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Testshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip89-90
9
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Information
Nowadays customer satisfaction is becoming more and more important because it is
very useful for companies It is not only helping companies to retain existing customers
but also capture new customers As a result companies do whatever they can to improve
their customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a key element for contemporary
organizations to deliver high quality products and service as well as to position firms
competitively in the marketplace (Chan and Baum 2007) In the ever-increasing
competitive environment one of the most important tasks for managers is to focus on
guest satisfaction because happy guests are returning customers and they will spread
positive advertising through word of mouth as a form of free marketing In doing so the
mangers must understand how their guests evaluate experiences and what service quality
attributes lead to guest satisfaction before strategizing approaches to improve guest
satisfaction
Contrary to the cognitive focus of customer satisfaction service quality is also a key
objective for companies to survive in todayrsquos increasingly competitive economic
environment Service quality can affect customer satisfaction higher service quality leads
to higher customer satisfaction and thus results in higher repeat purchases cross-selling
and positive word of-mouth communicationsmdashall of which help the business firms achieve
higher sales revenues profits and market shares (Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008)
Management of the organizations does recognize the importance of delivering high-quality
services until starting from the 90rsquos Hong Kong started to strongly promote the
importance of service quality For example the authority used famous artist Andy Lau as
a spokesman in a series of advertisements to bring out the message ldquowhat service should
like todayrdquo to inform the importance of service (You Tube 2006) In the TV commercials it
showed that people became more caring about the service quality
10
Recently customer satisfaction and service quality are hot topics for many
researches (Bowen 2001 Choi amp Chu 2001 Gary and Gary 2007) However there is no
one particular article that can thoroughly state how service quality affects customer
satisfaction Therefore this research is interested in finding out the relationship between
service quality and customer satisfaction and how service quality affects customer
satisfaction
On the other hand McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-
service food industry (Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) Wherever you are you can get what
you want from McDonaldrsquos consistent service and food quality In the past people went to
McDonaldrsquos because they thought that it could fill them and it could save time Nowadays
the major goal of McDonaldrsquos was still to provide fast service However people now have
more expectations for McDonaldrsquos When customers dine at McDonaldrsquos time efficiency
and getting themselves filled were not the sole considerations they would also consider
whether the level of service quality achieve their perception or not and whether it was
value for money This was due to the change of social culture such as education and
lifestyle Higher education background makes people concern more about the quality of
products they purchase and they would like to enjoy more service in the purchasing
experience
In order to face the changing needs of customers McDonaldrsquos is changing its
strategies from time to time in Hong Kong also It has to be more flexible To lead the
competing edge nowadays providing appropriate service becomes the most important
element Now McDonaldrsquos does not only talk about the ways to deliver the food but also
customer service Fast serving quality food and appropriate customer service are the
elements to success in this fast food industry nowadays The determining element is
whether the customers --- the youths are satisfied with what the restaurants provide or
not According to a survey published in IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns
Yearbook 2002 about 685 of males aging from 16 to 24 purchased fast food in the past
11
three months and about 77 of females from the same age group purchased fast food in
the past three months (Wong 2002) It showed youths were the largest group of
customers of McDonalds
Therefore researcher is interested in finding out how McDonalds satisfy its
customers What is the most important element affecting the satisfaction of youths Is it
service quality These are the reasons why researcher wants to study this topic and
choose McDonaldrsquos as the target organization
This study is organized into five sections with an introduction to the study provided in
this section the next section delves into a discussion of a service quality and customer
satisfaction concept and its measurement Research methodology used in the study and
the results are discussed next The final section sums up the discussion and provides
recommendations for McDonaldrsquos to improve Customer Satisfaction
12 Aims
From the youthsrsquo point of view to examine how service quality of Hong Kong
McDonalds affects its customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction
through service quality enhancement
13 Objectives
- To understand what is service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the youthsrsquo customer behavior so as to examine their satisfaction to the
service quality of McDonalds
12
- To study how to measure service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the importance of service quality to customer satisfaction of
McDonalds and provides recommendations to McDonalds
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Food
The term fast food was recognized in a dictionary by Merrian-Webster in 1951
(Wikipedia 2009) There are different ways to define fast food without single definition or
interpretation (Ball 1992) Fast food is defined as hot freshly prepared and wrapped food
items served to customers across a counter or through a drive-up window (Encyclopedia
of Food and Culture 2003) In other words fast food is convenient food that can be
prepared and served very quickly
Meanwhile fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and is often associated with unhealthy
image because the unwholesome ingredients contained Scott-Moncrieff (1999) states
that meals from fast food outlets usually containe over amount of salt fat chemical
additive preservatives and sugar and are insufficient in fiber It is equal to cheap food and
13
criticized as creating health problems such as obesity in human lives (Lobstein 1988
Ritzer 2001)
Nevertheless still many people consume fast food According to Schlosser (2001)
consumers spent about US$110 billion on fast food in the United States alone in 2000
That is said that about 200 people in the United States ordered one or more hamburgers
in every second On the other hand Chinarsquos fast food industry developed at a rate of over
20 annually in the 1990s much faster than the 78 annual increase in Chinarsquos gross
domestic product (Wong 2002) By the year 2000 fast food had become the biggest and
most attractive profit opportunity in Chinarsquos commodity and labor markets with an annual
turnover of over 200 billion Yuan (Wong 2002) All these can show that fast food has
grown remarkably both in developed countries and developing countries and quick
service restaurants became a driving force in the overall food service industry
Ball (1992) suggests that fast food is a worldwide phenomenon with more and more
people having consumed the fast food products both in their own country and abroad
Renowned as the culinary capital of Asia Hong Kong boasts more than 11000
restaurants many of them clustered in defined food districts (Hong Kong Tourism Board
2008) People can eat anything they want in Hong Kong The history of Hong Kong fast
food industry can be traced back to 1970rsquos when McDonalds entered the Hong Kong fast
food market In the past two decades because of the changes in food consumption
patterns Hong Kong people became used to fill the stomach with fast food as their part of
their lives
The fast food market in Hong Kong is very competitive featuring a variety of chains
and choice of both Western and Chinese cuisine The fast food shop in Hong Kong
includes general restaurants and food factory with full licenses (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007) According to the same department the fast food shops
increased year by year from 10980 fast food shops in 2004 to 11793 of that in
14
2007(refer to table 21) There are more and more competitors entering this market
Therefore the fast food market in Hong Kong becomes very competitive
Table 21 Number of Fast food shops of Hong Kong
Year 2007 2006 2005 2004
Number of Fast food shops 11793 11703 11431 10980
Source Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007)
212 McDonalds Corporation
McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-service food industry
(Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) From the Business Week (2009) McDonaldrsquos was
ranking in the 8th in 2007 brand rank
At the beginning McDonalds was a neighborhood restaurant only established in Des
Plaines Illinois Raymond Kroc (1902-1984) acquired franchising rights from the
McDonald brothers He then founded McDonalds Corporation in 1955 Nowadays
McDonalds has more than 31000 restaurants in more than 120 countries worldwide and
15
serve nearly 54 million customers each day (McDonalds Corporation 2008) It achieved a
significant market presence in terms of number of restaurants turnover and market share
213 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited was established in 1975 After rapidly
expanding today there are over 200 McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong and more
than 10000 McDonalds staff (McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong 2008)
McDonalds sells high quality hygienically prepared food at affordable prices and
gives speedy and courteous services It serves the world some of its favorite foods such
as French Fries Big Mac Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin
McDonalds brought the McCafeacute to Hong Kong in 1999 (McDonalds Corporation of
Hong Kong 2008) They aimed to provide a relax environment for dinning and put their
focus on the office guys students teens etc McCafeacute offers a wide variety of cakes
pastries and muffins as well as specialty coffee and tea
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
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Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
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Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
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Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
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Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
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Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
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Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
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Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
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Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
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Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
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Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
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amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
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Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
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httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
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Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
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Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
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Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
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Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
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Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
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Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
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Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
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Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
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Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
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Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
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httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
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Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
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Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
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Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
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McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
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McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
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Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
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pp 72-91
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Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
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Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
2
Acknowledgements
I would like to take this great opportunity to thank people who have helped me a lot
during this study First of all I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Miss Dorothy Tsui
and Professor Kevin Nield Miss Tsui always replied the E-mail so quickly and answered
my questions with patience She gave me direction when I felt lost Professor Kevin Nield
has given me clear guidelines regarding the dissertation
On the other hand I would to thank Dr Mok who taught me the knowledge about
statistics and how to use the SPSS software With her help I was able to use the SPSS
software to analyze the results of the questionnaires It was a valuable and unforgettable
experience to use SPSS software I believe this experience will continue to benefit me in
the future
In fact I would to thank all the respondents who spared their precious time and
completed the questionnaires Without their help I could not finish my dissertation I would
like to thank Professor Pine and Mr John Perry who have provided reference exercises to
me I have learnt a lot form the exercises
Finally I want to thank my sister Miss Fanny Chan who always supported me to go
on studying and helped me to proof read the dissertation
3
Abstract
Nowadays people care more about service quality and this directly affects customer
satisfaction Many organizations do whatever they can to provide high service quality in
order to enhance customer satisfaction This dissertation is written to examine how
service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its customer satisfaction and it can
enhance customer satisfaction through improving its service quality from the youthsrsquo point
of view
In order to gather more opinions from youths the questionnaire was set based on
three important theories Gap model (Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL
(Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) and Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980)
152 questionnaires were completed by the target group and they were asked questions
about demographic data and attitudes towards service quality and customer satisfaction
using 28 attributes
The findings indicated that there was a positive relationship of service quality and
customer satisfaction If the youths felt that service quality was good they have high level
of satisfaction They claimed that the best quality of service provided by McDonaldrsquos was
convenience which was measured by ldquoTransportationrdquo and ldquoAccessibilityrdquo Also youths
were mostly satisfied with these two attributes On the other hand the target group
claimed that the worst quality of services provided by McDonaldrsquos were ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo
and ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo Meanwhile respondents in different sexes had
different level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than that of males
Lastly several solutions were suggested to improve the service quality of
McDonaldrsquos and enhance customer satisfaction
4
List of Tables Page
Table 21 Number of Restaurants of Hong Konghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methodshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip43
Table 41 The characteristic of respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip49
Table 42 The reasons of respondents go to McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip51
Table 43 The attitudes of respondents to exiting services of McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphellip51
Table 44 The mean and standard deviation of performancehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip53-54
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)helliphelliphelliphelliphellip57
5
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip63
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip64
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributeshelliphelliphelliphellip66
List of Figures Page
Figure 21 Customer Satisfaction Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22
Figure 22 Gap Model of Service Qualityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip27
Figure 23 Definitions of Service Quality Dimensionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28
Finger 41 Relationships Between Service Quality and Level of Customer
Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip60
Figure 42 Priorities for Improvement of McDonaldshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip62
6
Contents
Page
Acknowledgementhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipi
Abstracthelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipii-iii
List of Tableshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipiv
List of Figureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipv
Contentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipvi-viii
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Informationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip1-4
12 Aimshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip5
13 Objectiveshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip5
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Foodhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6-8
212 McDonaldrsquos Corporationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9
213 McDonaldrsquos Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limitedhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10
7
214 Mission Statement of McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11-12
22 The Characteristics of Youthshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 13-14
23 Definitions
231 Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15-16
232 Qualityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17
233 Service Qualitieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18-19
234 Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20-22
24 Characteristics of Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip23-24
25 Measuring service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25-27
252 SERVQUALhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28-29
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip30-31
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip32-33
32 Primary Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34
321 Quantitative Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35
322 Pilot Testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36
33 Secondary Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37
34 Descriptive Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38
35 Data Collection
351 Primary Datahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39
352 Secondary Datahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Designhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40-41
362 Population and Sampleshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42-43
363 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44
37 Reliability and Validity of the Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip45
38 Limitationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip46
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47-51
8
42 The Performance of Service Quality52-55
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 55-57
44 Attributes for improvementhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 58-60
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphellip61-62
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of
Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip63-64
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip65-66
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 67-68
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 69-71
53 Further Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip72
Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 73-83
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnairehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip84-88
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Testshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip89-90
9
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Information
Nowadays customer satisfaction is becoming more and more important because it is
very useful for companies It is not only helping companies to retain existing customers
but also capture new customers As a result companies do whatever they can to improve
their customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a key element for contemporary
organizations to deliver high quality products and service as well as to position firms
competitively in the marketplace (Chan and Baum 2007) In the ever-increasing
competitive environment one of the most important tasks for managers is to focus on
guest satisfaction because happy guests are returning customers and they will spread
positive advertising through word of mouth as a form of free marketing In doing so the
mangers must understand how their guests evaluate experiences and what service quality
attributes lead to guest satisfaction before strategizing approaches to improve guest
satisfaction
Contrary to the cognitive focus of customer satisfaction service quality is also a key
objective for companies to survive in todayrsquos increasingly competitive economic
environment Service quality can affect customer satisfaction higher service quality leads
to higher customer satisfaction and thus results in higher repeat purchases cross-selling
and positive word of-mouth communicationsmdashall of which help the business firms achieve
higher sales revenues profits and market shares (Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008)
Management of the organizations does recognize the importance of delivering high-quality
services until starting from the 90rsquos Hong Kong started to strongly promote the
importance of service quality For example the authority used famous artist Andy Lau as
a spokesman in a series of advertisements to bring out the message ldquowhat service should
like todayrdquo to inform the importance of service (You Tube 2006) In the TV commercials it
showed that people became more caring about the service quality
10
Recently customer satisfaction and service quality are hot topics for many
researches (Bowen 2001 Choi amp Chu 2001 Gary and Gary 2007) However there is no
one particular article that can thoroughly state how service quality affects customer
satisfaction Therefore this research is interested in finding out the relationship between
service quality and customer satisfaction and how service quality affects customer
satisfaction
On the other hand McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-
service food industry (Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) Wherever you are you can get what
you want from McDonaldrsquos consistent service and food quality In the past people went to
McDonaldrsquos because they thought that it could fill them and it could save time Nowadays
the major goal of McDonaldrsquos was still to provide fast service However people now have
more expectations for McDonaldrsquos When customers dine at McDonaldrsquos time efficiency
and getting themselves filled were not the sole considerations they would also consider
whether the level of service quality achieve their perception or not and whether it was
value for money This was due to the change of social culture such as education and
lifestyle Higher education background makes people concern more about the quality of
products they purchase and they would like to enjoy more service in the purchasing
experience
In order to face the changing needs of customers McDonaldrsquos is changing its
strategies from time to time in Hong Kong also It has to be more flexible To lead the
competing edge nowadays providing appropriate service becomes the most important
element Now McDonaldrsquos does not only talk about the ways to deliver the food but also
customer service Fast serving quality food and appropriate customer service are the
elements to success in this fast food industry nowadays The determining element is
whether the customers --- the youths are satisfied with what the restaurants provide or
not According to a survey published in IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns
Yearbook 2002 about 685 of males aging from 16 to 24 purchased fast food in the past
11
three months and about 77 of females from the same age group purchased fast food in
the past three months (Wong 2002) It showed youths were the largest group of
customers of McDonalds
Therefore researcher is interested in finding out how McDonalds satisfy its
customers What is the most important element affecting the satisfaction of youths Is it
service quality These are the reasons why researcher wants to study this topic and
choose McDonaldrsquos as the target organization
This study is organized into five sections with an introduction to the study provided in
this section the next section delves into a discussion of a service quality and customer
satisfaction concept and its measurement Research methodology used in the study and
the results are discussed next The final section sums up the discussion and provides
recommendations for McDonaldrsquos to improve Customer Satisfaction
12 Aims
From the youthsrsquo point of view to examine how service quality of Hong Kong
McDonalds affects its customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction
through service quality enhancement
13 Objectives
- To understand what is service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the youthsrsquo customer behavior so as to examine their satisfaction to the
service quality of McDonalds
12
- To study how to measure service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the importance of service quality to customer satisfaction of
McDonalds and provides recommendations to McDonalds
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Food
The term fast food was recognized in a dictionary by Merrian-Webster in 1951
(Wikipedia 2009) There are different ways to define fast food without single definition or
interpretation (Ball 1992) Fast food is defined as hot freshly prepared and wrapped food
items served to customers across a counter or through a drive-up window (Encyclopedia
of Food and Culture 2003) In other words fast food is convenient food that can be
prepared and served very quickly
Meanwhile fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and is often associated with unhealthy
image because the unwholesome ingredients contained Scott-Moncrieff (1999) states
that meals from fast food outlets usually containe over amount of salt fat chemical
additive preservatives and sugar and are insufficient in fiber It is equal to cheap food and
13
criticized as creating health problems such as obesity in human lives (Lobstein 1988
Ritzer 2001)
Nevertheless still many people consume fast food According to Schlosser (2001)
consumers spent about US$110 billion on fast food in the United States alone in 2000
That is said that about 200 people in the United States ordered one or more hamburgers
in every second On the other hand Chinarsquos fast food industry developed at a rate of over
20 annually in the 1990s much faster than the 78 annual increase in Chinarsquos gross
domestic product (Wong 2002) By the year 2000 fast food had become the biggest and
most attractive profit opportunity in Chinarsquos commodity and labor markets with an annual
turnover of over 200 billion Yuan (Wong 2002) All these can show that fast food has
grown remarkably both in developed countries and developing countries and quick
service restaurants became a driving force in the overall food service industry
Ball (1992) suggests that fast food is a worldwide phenomenon with more and more
people having consumed the fast food products both in their own country and abroad
Renowned as the culinary capital of Asia Hong Kong boasts more than 11000
restaurants many of them clustered in defined food districts (Hong Kong Tourism Board
2008) People can eat anything they want in Hong Kong The history of Hong Kong fast
food industry can be traced back to 1970rsquos when McDonalds entered the Hong Kong fast
food market In the past two decades because of the changes in food consumption
patterns Hong Kong people became used to fill the stomach with fast food as their part of
their lives
The fast food market in Hong Kong is very competitive featuring a variety of chains
and choice of both Western and Chinese cuisine The fast food shop in Hong Kong
includes general restaurants and food factory with full licenses (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007) According to the same department the fast food shops
increased year by year from 10980 fast food shops in 2004 to 11793 of that in
14
2007(refer to table 21) There are more and more competitors entering this market
Therefore the fast food market in Hong Kong becomes very competitive
Table 21 Number of Fast food shops of Hong Kong
Year 2007 2006 2005 2004
Number of Fast food shops 11793 11703 11431 10980
Source Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007)
212 McDonalds Corporation
McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-service food industry
(Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) From the Business Week (2009) McDonaldrsquos was
ranking in the 8th in 2007 brand rank
At the beginning McDonalds was a neighborhood restaurant only established in Des
Plaines Illinois Raymond Kroc (1902-1984) acquired franchising rights from the
McDonald brothers He then founded McDonalds Corporation in 1955 Nowadays
McDonalds has more than 31000 restaurants in more than 120 countries worldwide and
15
serve nearly 54 million customers each day (McDonalds Corporation 2008) It achieved a
significant market presence in terms of number of restaurants turnover and market share
213 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited was established in 1975 After rapidly
expanding today there are over 200 McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong and more
than 10000 McDonalds staff (McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong 2008)
McDonalds sells high quality hygienically prepared food at affordable prices and
gives speedy and courteous services It serves the world some of its favorite foods such
as French Fries Big Mac Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin
McDonalds brought the McCafeacute to Hong Kong in 1999 (McDonalds Corporation of
Hong Kong 2008) They aimed to provide a relax environment for dinning and put their
focus on the office guys students teens etc McCafeacute offers a wide variety of cakes
pastries and muffins as well as specialty coffee and tea
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
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Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
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Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
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httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
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Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
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http216139227101interactivemcd2007
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pp 72-91
67
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Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
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Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
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Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
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Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
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Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
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Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
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69
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httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
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Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
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You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
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70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
3
Abstract
Nowadays people care more about service quality and this directly affects customer
satisfaction Many organizations do whatever they can to provide high service quality in
order to enhance customer satisfaction This dissertation is written to examine how
service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its customer satisfaction and it can
enhance customer satisfaction through improving its service quality from the youthsrsquo point
of view
In order to gather more opinions from youths the questionnaire was set based on
three important theories Gap model (Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL
(Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) and Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980)
152 questionnaires were completed by the target group and they were asked questions
about demographic data and attitudes towards service quality and customer satisfaction
using 28 attributes
The findings indicated that there was a positive relationship of service quality and
customer satisfaction If the youths felt that service quality was good they have high level
of satisfaction They claimed that the best quality of service provided by McDonaldrsquos was
convenience which was measured by ldquoTransportationrdquo and ldquoAccessibilityrdquo Also youths
were mostly satisfied with these two attributes On the other hand the target group
claimed that the worst quality of services provided by McDonaldrsquos were ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo
and ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo Meanwhile respondents in different sexes had
different level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than that of males
Lastly several solutions were suggested to improve the service quality of
McDonaldrsquos and enhance customer satisfaction
4
List of Tables Page
Table 21 Number of Restaurants of Hong Konghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methodshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip43
Table 41 The characteristic of respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip49
Table 42 The reasons of respondents go to McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip51
Table 43 The attitudes of respondents to exiting services of McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphellip51
Table 44 The mean and standard deviation of performancehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip53-54
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)helliphelliphelliphelliphellip57
5
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip63
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip64
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributeshelliphelliphelliphellip66
List of Figures Page
Figure 21 Customer Satisfaction Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22
Figure 22 Gap Model of Service Qualityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip27
Figure 23 Definitions of Service Quality Dimensionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28
Finger 41 Relationships Between Service Quality and Level of Customer
Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip60
Figure 42 Priorities for Improvement of McDonaldshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip62
6
Contents
Page
Acknowledgementhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipi
Abstracthelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipii-iii
List of Tableshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipiv
List of Figureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipv
Contentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipvi-viii
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Informationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip1-4
12 Aimshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip5
13 Objectiveshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip5
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Foodhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6-8
212 McDonaldrsquos Corporationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9
213 McDonaldrsquos Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limitedhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10
7
214 Mission Statement of McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11-12
22 The Characteristics of Youthshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 13-14
23 Definitions
231 Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15-16
232 Qualityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17
233 Service Qualitieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18-19
234 Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20-22
24 Characteristics of Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip23-24
25 Measuring service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25-27
252 SERVQUALhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28-29
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip30-31
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip32-33
32 Primary Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34
321 Quantitative Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35
322 Pilot Testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36
33 Secondary Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37
34 Descriptive Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38
35 Data Collection
351 Primary Datahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39
352 Secondary Datahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Designhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40-41
362 Population and Sampleshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42-43
363 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44
37 Reliability and Validity of the Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip45
38 Limitationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip46
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47-51
8
42 The Performance of Service Quality52-55
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 55-57
44 Attributes for improvementhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 58-60
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphellip61-62
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of
Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip63-64
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip65-66
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 67-68
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 69-71
53 Further Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip72
Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 73-83
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnairehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip84-88
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Testshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip89-90
9
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Information
Nowadays customer satisfaction is becoming more and more important because it is
very useful for companies It is not only helping companies to retain existing customers
but also capture new customers As a result companies do whatever they can to improve
their customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a key element for contemporary
organizations to deliver high quality products and service as well as to position firms
competitively in the marketplace (Chan and Baum 2007) In the ever-increasing
competitive environment one of the most important tasks for managers is to focus on
guest satisfaction because happy guests are returning customers and they will spread
positive advertising through word of mouth as a form of free marketing In doing so the
mangers must understand how their guests evaluate experiences and what service quality
attributes lead to guest satisfaction before strategizing approaches to improve guest
satisfaction
Contrary to the cognitive focus of customer satisfaction service quality is also a key
objective for companies to survive in todayrsquos increasingly competitive economic
environment Service quality can affect customer satisfaction higher service quality leads
to higher customer satisfaction and thus results in higher repeat purchases cross-selling
and positive word of-mouth communicationsmdashall of which help the business firms achieve
higher sales revenues profits and market shares (Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008)
Management of the organizations does recognize the importance of delivering high-quality
services until starting from the 90rsquos Hong Kong started to strongly promote the
importance of service quality For example the authority used famous artist Andy Lau as
a spokesman in a series of advertisements to bring out the message ldquowhat service should
like todayrdquo to inform the importance of service (You Tube 2006) In the TV commercials it
showed that people became more caring about the service quality
10
Recently customer satisfaction and service quality are hot topics for many
researches (Bowen 2001 Choi amp Chu 2001 Gary and Gary 2007) However there is no
one particular article that can thoroughly state how service quality affects customer
satisfaction Therefore this research is interested in finding out the relationship between
service quality and customer satisfaction and how service quality affects customer
satisfaction
On the other hand McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-
service food industry (Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) Wherever you are you can get what
you want from McDonaldrsquos consistent service and food quality In the past people went to
McDonaldrsquos because they thought that it could fill them and it could save time Nowadays
the major goal of McDonaldrsquos was still to provide fast service However people now have
more expectations for McDonaldrsquos When customers dine at McDonaldrsquos time efficiency
and getting themselves filled were not the sole considerations they would also consider
whether the level of service quality achieve their perception or not and whether it was
value for money This was due to the change of social culture such as education and
lifestyle Higher education background makes people concern more about the quality of
products they purchase and they would like to enjoy more service in the purchasing
experience
In order to face the changing needs of customers McDonaldrsquos is changing its
strategies from time to time in Hong Kong also It has to be more flexible To lead the
competing edge nowadays providing appropriate service becomes the most important
element Now McDonaldrsquos does not only talk about the ways to deliver the food but also
customer service Fast serving quality food and appropriate customer service are the
elements to success in this fast food industry nowadays The determining element is
whether the customers --- the youths are satisfied with what the restaurants provide or
not According to a survey published in IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns
Yearbook 2002 about 685 of males aging from 16 to 24 purchased fast food in the past
11
three months and about 77 of females from the same age group purchased fast food in
the past three months (Wong 2002) It showed youths were the largest group of
customers of McDonalds
Therefore researcher is interested in finding out how McDonalds satisfy its
customers What is the most important element affecting the satisfaction of youths Is it
service quality These are the reasons why researcher wants to study this topic and
choose McDonaldrsquos as the target organization
This study is organized into five sections with an introduction to the study provided in
this section the next section delves into a discussion of a service quality and customer
satisfaction concept and its measurement Research methodology used in the study and
the results are discussed next The final section sums up the discussion and provides
recommendations for McDonaldrsquos to improve Customer Satisfaction
12 Aims
From the youthsrsquo point of view to examine how service quality of Hong Kong
McDonalds affects its customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction
through service quality enhancement
13 Objectives
- To understand what is service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the youthsrsquo customer behavior so as to examine their satisfaction to the
service quality of McDonalds
12
- To study how to measure service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the importance of service quality to customer satisfaction of
McDonalds and provides recommendations to McDonalds
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Food
The term fast food was recognized in a dictionary by Merrian-Webster in 1951
(Wikipedia 2009) There are different ways to define fast food without single definition or
interpretation (Ball 1992) Fast food is defined as hot freshly prepared and wrapped food
items served to customers across a counter or through a drive-up window (Encyclopedia
of Food and Culture 2003) In other words fast food is convenient food that can be
prepared and served very quickly
Meanwhile fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and is often associated with unhealthy
image because the unwholesome ingredients contained Scott-Moncrieff (1999) states
that meals from fast food outlets usually containe over amount of salt fat chemical
additive preservatives and sugar and are insufficient in fiber It is equal to cheap food and
13
criticized as creating health problems such as obesity in human lives (Lobstein 1988
Ritzer 2001)
Nevertheless still many people consume fast food According to Schlosser (2001)
consumers spent about US$110 billion on fast food in the United States alone in 2000
That is said that about 200 people in the United States ordered one or more hamburgers
in every second On the other hand Chinarsquos fast food industry developed at a rate of over
20 annually in the 1990s much faster than the 78 annual increase in Chinarsquos gross
domestic product (Wong 2002) By the year 2000 fast food had become the biggest and
most attractive profit opportunity in Chinarsquos commodity and labor markets with an annual
turnover of over 200 billion Yuan (Wong 2002) All these can show that fast food has
grown remarkably both in developed countries and developing countries and quick
service restaurants became a driving force in the overall food service industry
Ball (1992) suggests that fast food is a worldwide phenomenon with more and more
people having consumed the fast food products both in their own country and abroad
Renowned as the culinary capital of Asia Hong Kong boasts more than 11000
restaurants many of them clustered in defined food districts (Hong Kong Tourism Board
2008) People can eat anything they want in Hong Kong The history of Hong Kong fast
food industry can be traced back to 1970rsquos when McDonalds entered the Hong Kong fast
food market In the past two decades because of the changes in food consumption
patterns Hong Kong people became used to fill the stomach with fast food as their part of
their lives
The fast food market in Hong Kong is very competitive featuring a variety of chains
and choice of both Western and Chinese cuisine The fast food shop in Hong Kong
includes general restaurants and food factory with full licenses (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007) According to the same department the fast food shops
increased year by year from 10980 fast food shops in 2004 to 11793 of that in
14
2007(refer to table 21) There are more and more competitors entering this market
Therefore the fast food market in Hong Kong becomes very competitive
Table 21 Number of Fast food shops of Hong Kong
Year 2007 2006 2005 2004
Number of Fast food shops 11793 11703 11431 10980
Source Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007)
212 McDonalds Corporation
McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-service food industry
(Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) From the Business Week (2009) McDonaldrsquos was
ranking in the 8th in 2007 brand rank
At the beginning McDonalds was a neighborhood restaurant only established in Des
Plaines Illinois Raymond Kroc (1902-1984) acquired franchising rights from the
McDonald brothers He then founded McDonalds Corporation in 1955 Nowadays
McDonalds has more than 31000 restaurants in more than 120 countries worldwide and
15
serve nearly 54 million customers each day (McDonalds Corporation 2008) It achieved a
significant market presence in terms of number of restaurants turnover and market share
213 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited was established in 1975 After rapidly
expanding today there are over 200 McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong and more
than 10000 McDonalds staff (McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong 2008)
McDonalds sells high quality hygienically prepared food at affordable prices and
gives speedy and courteous services It serves the world some of its favorite foods such
as French Fries Big Mac Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin
McDonalds brought the McCafeacute to Hong Kong in 1999 (McDonalds Corporation of
Hong Kong 2008) They aimed to provide a relax environment for dinning and put their
focus on the office guys students teens etc McCafeacute offers a wide variety of cakes
pastries and muffins as well as specialty coffee and tea
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
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Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
4
List of Tables Page
Table 21 Number of Restaurants of Hong Konghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip8
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methodshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip43
Table 41 The characteristic of respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip49
Table 42 The reasons of respondents go to McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip51
Table 43 The attitudes of respondents to exiting services of McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphellip51
Table 44 The mean and standard deviation of performancehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip53-54
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)helliphelliphelliphelliphellip57
5
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip63
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip64
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributeshelliphelliphelliphellip66
List of Figures Page
Figure 21 Customer Satisfaction Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22
Figure 22 Gap Model of Service Qualityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip27
Figure 23 Definitions of Service Quality Dimensionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28
Finger 41 Relationships Between Service Quality and Level of Customer
Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip60
Figure 42 Priorities for Improvement of McDonaldshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip62
6
Contents
Page
Acknowledgementhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipi
Abstracthelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipii-iii
List of Tableshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipiv
List of Figureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipv
Contentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipvi-viii
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Informationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip1-4
12 Aimshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip5
13 Objectiveshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip5
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Foodhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6-8
212 McDonaldrsquos Corporationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9
213 McDonaldrsquos Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limitedhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10
7
214 Mission Statement of McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11-12
22 The Characteristics of Youthshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 13-14
23 Definitions
231 Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15-16
232 Qualityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17
233 Service Qualitieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18-19
234 Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20-22
24 Characteristics of Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip23-24
25 Measuring service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25-27
252 SERVQUALhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28-29
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip30-31
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip32-33
32 Primary Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34
321 Quantitative Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35
322 Pilot Testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36
33 Secondary Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37
34 Descriptive Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38
35 Data Collection
351 Primary Datahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39
352 Secondary Datahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Designhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40-41
362 Population and Sampleshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42-43
363 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44
37 Reliability and Validity of the Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip45
38 Limitationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip46
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47-51
8
42 The Performance of Service Quality52-55
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 55-57
44 Attributes for improvementhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 58-60
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphellip61-62
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of
Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip63-64
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip65-66
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 67-68
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 69-71
53 Further Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip72
Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 73-83
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnairehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip84-88
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Testshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip89-90
9
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Information
Nowadays customer satisfaction is becoming more and more important because it is
very useful for companies It is not only helping companies to retain existing customers
but also capture new customers As a result companies do whatever they can to improve
their customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a key element for contemporary
organizations to deliver high quality products and service as well as to position firms
competitively in the marketplace (Chan and Baum 2007) In the ever-increasing
competitive environment one of the most important tasks for managers is to focus on
guest satisfaction because happy guests are returning customers and they will spread
positive advertising through word of mouth as a form of free marketing In doing so the
mangers must understand how their guests evaluate experiences and what service quality
attributes lead to guest satisfaction before strategizing approaches to improve guest
satisfaction
Contrary to the cognitive focus of customer satisfaction service quality is also a key
objective for companies to survive in todayrsquos increasingly competitive economic
environment Service quality can affect customer satisfaction higher service quality leads
to higher customer satisfaction and thus results in higher repeat purchases cross-selling
and positive word of-mouth communicationsmdashall of which help the business firms achieve
higher sales revenues profits and market shares (Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008)
Management of the organizations does recognize the importance of delivering high-quality
services until starting from the 90rsquos Hong Kong started to strongly promote the
importance of service quality For example the authority used famous artist Andy Lau as
a spokesman in a series of advertisements to bring out the message ldquowhat service should
like todayrdquo to inform the importance of service (You Tube 2006) In the TV commercials it
showed that people became more caring about the service quality
10
Recently customer satisfaction and service quality are hot topics for many
researches (Bowen 2001 Choi amp Chu 2001 Gary and Gary 2007) However there is no
one particular article that can thoroughly state how service quality affects customer
satisfaction Therefore this research is interested in finding out the relationship between
service quality and customer satisfaction and how service quality affects customer
satisfaction
On the other hand McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-
service food industry (Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) Wherever you are you can get what
you want from McDonaldrsquos consistent service and food quality In the past people went to
McDonaldrsquos because they thought that it could fill them and it could save time Nowadays
the major goal of McDonaldrsquos was still to provide fast service However people now have
more expectations for McDonaldrsquos When customers dine at McDonaldrsquos time efficiency
and getting themselves filled were not the sole considerations they would also consider
whether the level of service quality achieve their perception or not and whether it was
value for money This was due to the change of social culture such as education and
lifestyle Higher education background makes people concern more about the quality of
products they purchase and they would like to enjoy more service in the purchasing
experience
In order to face the changing needs of customers McDonaldrsquos is changing its
strategies from time to time in Hong Kong also It has to be more flexible To lead the
competing edge nowadays providing appropriate service becomes the most important
element Now McDonaldrsquos does not only talk about the ways to deliver the food but also
customer service Fast serving quality food and appropriate customer service are the
elements to success in this fast food industry nowadays The determining element is
whether the customers --- the youths are satisfied with what the restaurants provide or
not According to a survey published in IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns
Yearbook 2002 about 685 of males aging from 16 to 24 purchased fast food in the past
11
three months and about 77 of females from the same age group purchased fast food in
the past three months (Wong 2002) It showed youths were the largest group of
customers of McDonalds
Therefore researcher is interested in finding out how McDonalds satisfy its
customers What is the most important element affecting the satisfaction of youths Is it
service quality These are the reasons why researcher wants to study this topic and
choose McDonaldrsquos as the target organization
This study is organized into five sections with an introduction to the study provided in
this section the next section delves into a discussion of a service quality and customer
satisfaction concept and its measurement Research methodology used in the study and
the results are discussed next The final section sums up the discussion and provides
recommendations for McDonaldrsquos to improve Customer Satisfaction
12 Aims
From the youthsrsquo point of view to examine how service quality of Hong Kong
McDonalds affects its customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction
through service quality enhancement
13 Objectives
- To understand what is service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the youthsrsquo customer behavior so as to examine their satisfaction to the
service quality of McDonalds
12
- To study how to measure service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the importance of service quality to customer satisfaction of
McDonalds and provides recommendations to McDonalds
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Food
The term fast food was recognized in a dictionary by Merrian-Webster in 1951
(Wikipedia 2009) There are different ways to define fast food without single definition or
interpretation (Ball 1992) Fast food is defined as hot freshly prepared and wrapped food
items served to customers across a counter or through a drive-up window (Encyclopedia
of Food and Culture 2003) In other words fast food is convenient food that can be
prepared and served very quickly
Meanwhile fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and is often associated with unhealthy
image because the unwholesome ingredients contained Scott-Moncrieff (1999) states
that meals from fast food outlets usually containe over amount of salt fat chemical
additive preservatives and sugar and are insufficient in fiber It is equal to cheap food and
13
criticized as creating health problems such as obesity in human lives (Lobstein 1988
Ritzer 2001)
Nevertheless still many people consume fast food According to Schlosser (2001)
consumers spent about US$110 billion on fast food in the United States alone in 2000
That is said that about 200 people in the United States ordered one or more hamburgers
in every second On the other hand Chinarsquos fast food industry developed at a rate of over
20 annually in the 1990s much faster than the 78 annual increase in Chinarsquos gross
domestic product (Wong 2002) By the year 2000 fast food had become the biggest and
most attractive profit opportunity in Chinarsquos commodity and labor markets with an annual
turnover of over 200 billion Yuan (Wong 2002) All these can show that fast food has
grown remarkably both in developed countries and developing countries and quick
service restaurants became a driving force in the overall food service industry
Ball (1992) suggests that fast food is a worldwide phenomenon with more and more
people having consumed the fast food products both in their own country and abroad
Renowned as the culinary capital of Asia Hong Kong boasts more than 11000
restaurants many of them clustered in defined food districts (Hong Kong Tourism Board
2008) People can eat anything they want in Hong Kong The history of Hong Kong fast
food industry can be traced back to 1970rsquos when McDonalds entered the Hong Kong fast
food market In the past two decades because of the changes in food consumption
patterns Hong Kong people became used to fill the stomach with fast food as their part of
their lives
The fast food market in Hong Kong is very competitive featuring a variety of chains
and choice of both Western and Chinese cuisine The fast food shop in Hong Kong
includes general restaurants and food factory with full licenses (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007) According to the same department the fast food shops
increased year by year from 10980 fast food shops in 2004 to 11793 of that in
14
2007(refer to table 21) There are more and more competitors entering this market
Therefore the fast food market in Hong Kong becomes very competitive
Table 21 Number of Fast food shops of Hong Kong
Year 2007 2006 2005 2004
Number of Fast food shops 11793 11703 11431 10980
Source Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007)
212 McDonalds Corporation
McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-service food industry
(Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) From the Business Week (2009) McDonaldrsquos was
ranking in the 8th in 2007 brand rank
At the beginning McDonalds was a neighborhood restaurant only established in Des
Plaines Illinois Raymond Kroc (1902-1984) acquired franchising rights from the
McDonald brothers He then founded McDonalds Corporation in 1955 Nowadays
McDonalds has more than 31000 restaurants in more than 120 countries worldwide and
15
serve nearly 54 million customers each day (McDonalds Corporation 2008) It achieved a
significant market presence in terms of number of restaurants turnover and market share
213 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited was established in 1975 After rapidly
expanding today there are over 200 McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong and more
than 10000 McDonalds staff (McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong 2008)
McDonalds sells high quality hygienically prepared food at affordable prices and
gives speedy and courteous services It serves the world some of its favorite foods such
as French Fries Big Mac Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin
McDonalds brought the McCafeacute to Hong Kong in 1999 (McDonalds Corporation of
Hong Kong 2008) They aimed to provide a relax environment for dinning and put their
focus on the office guys students teens etc McCafeacute offers a wide variety of cakes
pastries and muffins as well as specialty coffee and tea
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
5
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip63
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip64
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributeshelliphelliphelliphellip66
List of Figures Page
Figure 21 Customer Satisfaction Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22
Figure 22 Gap Model of Service Qualityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip27
Figure 23 Definitions of Service Quality Dimensionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28
Finger 41 Relationships Between Service Quality and Level of Customer
Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip60
Figure 42 Priorities for Improvement of McDonaldshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip62
6
Contents
Page
Acknowledgementhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipi
Abstracthelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipii-iii
List of Tableshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipiv
List of Figureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipv
Contentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipvi-viii
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Informationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip1-4
12 Aimshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip5
13 Objectiveshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip5
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Foodhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6-8
212 McDonaldrsquos Corporationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9
213 McDonaldrsquos Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limitedhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10
7
214 Mission Statement of McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11-12
22 The Characteristics of Youthshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 13-14
23 Definitions
231 Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15-16
232 Qualityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17
233 Service Qualitieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18-19
234 Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20-22
24 Characteristics of Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip23-24
25 Measuring service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25-27
252 SERVQUALhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28-29
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip30-31
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip32-33
32 Primary Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34
321 Quantitative Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35
322 Pilot Testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36
33 Secondary Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37
34 Descriptive Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38
35 Data Collection
351 Primary Datahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39
352 Secondary Datahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Designhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40-41
362 Population and Sampleshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42-43
363 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44
37 Reliability and Validity of the Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip45
38 Limitationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip46
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47-51
8
42 The Performance of Service Quality52-55
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 55-57
44 Attributes for improvementhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 58-60
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphellip61-62
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of
Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip63-64
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip65-66
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 67-68
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 69-71
53 Further Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip72
Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 73-83
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnairehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip84-88
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Testshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip89-90
9
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Information
Nowadays customer satisfaction is becoming more and more important because it is
very useful for companies It is not only helping companies to retain existing customers
but also capture new customers As a result companies do whatever they can to improve
their customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a key element for contemporary
organizations to deliver high quality products and service as well as to position firms
competitively in the marketplace (Chan and Baum 2007) In the ever-increasing
competitive environment one of the most important tasks for managers is to focus on
guest satisfaction because happy guests are returning customers and they will spread
positive advertising through word of mouth as a form of free marketing In doing so the
mangers must understand how their guests evaluate experiences and what service quality
attributes lead to guest satisfaction before strategizing approaches to improve guest
satisfaction
Contrary to the cognitive focus of customer satisfaction service quality is also a key
objective for companies to survive in todayrsquos increasingly competitive economic
environment Service quality can affect customer satisfaction higher service quality leads
to higher customer satisfaction and thus results in higher repeat purchases cross-selling
and positive word of-mouth communicationsmdashall of which help the business firms achieve
higher sales revenues profits and market shares (Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008)
Management of the organizations does recognize the importance of delivering high-quality
services until starting from the 90rsquos Hong Kong started to strongly promote the
importance of service quality For example the authority used famous artist Andy Lau as
a spokesman in a series of advertisements to bring out the message ldquowhat service should
like todayrdquo to inform the importance of service (You Tube 2006) In the TV commercials it
showed that people became more caring about the service quality
10
Recently customer satisfaction and service quality are hot topics for many
researches (Bowen 2001 Choi amp Chu 2001 Gary and Gary 2007) However there is no
one particular article that can thoroughly state how service quality affects customer
satisfaction Therefore this research is interested in finding out the relationship between
service quality and customer satisfaction and how service quality affects customer
satisfaction
On the other hand McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-
service food industry (Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) Wherever you are you can get what
you want from McDonaldrsquos consistent service and food quality In the past people went to
McDonaldrsquos because they thought that it could fill them and it could save time Nowadays
the major goal of McDonaldrsquos was still to provide fast service However people now have
more expectations for McDonaldrsquos When customers dine at McDonaldrsquos time efficiency
and getting themselves filled were not the sole considerations they would also consider
whether the level of service quality achieve their perception or not and whether it was
value for money This was due to the change of social culture such as education and
lifestyle Higher education background makes people concern more about the quality of
products they purchase and they would like to enjoy more service in the purchasing
experience
In order to face the changing needs of customers McDonaldrsquos is changing its
strategies from time to time in Hong Kong also It has to be more flexible To lead the
competing edge nowadays providing appropriate service becomes the most important
element Now McDonaldrsquos does not only talk about the ways to deliver the food but also
customer service Fast serving quality food and appropriate customer service are the
elements to success in this fast food industry nowadays The determining element is
whether the customers --- the youths are satisfied with what the restaurants provide or
not According to a survey published in IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns
Yearbook 2002 about 685 of males aging from 16 to 24 purchased fast food in the past
11
three months and about 77 of females from the same age group purchased fast food in
the past three months (Wong 2002) It showed youths were the largest group of
customers of McDonalds
Therefore researcher is interested in finding out how McDonalds satisfy its
customers What is the most important element affecting the satisfaction of youths Is it
service quality These are the reasons why researcher wants to study this topic and
choose McDonaldrsquos as the target organization
This study is organized into five sections with an introduction to the study provided in
this section the next section delves into a discussion of a service quality and customer
satisfaction concept and its measurement Research methodology used in the study and
the results are discussed next The final section sums up the discussion and provides
recommendations for McDonaldrsquos to improve Customer Satisfaction
12 Aims
From the youthsrsquo point of view to examine how service quality of Hong Kong
McDonalds affects its customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction
through service quality enhancement
13 Objectives
- To understand what is service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the youthsrsquo customer behavior so as to examine their satisfaction to the
service quality of McDonalds
12
- To study how to measure service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the importance of service quality to customer satisfaction of
McDonalds and provides recommendations to McDonalds
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Food
The term fast food was recognized in a dictionary by Merrian-Webster in 1951
(Wikipedia 2009) There are different ways to define fast food without single definition or
interpretation (Ball 1992) Fast food is defined as hot freshly prepared and wrapped food
items served to customers across a counter or through a drive-up window (Encyclopedia
of Food and Culture 2003) In other words fast food is convenient food that can be
prepared and served very quickly
Meanwhile fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and is often associated with unhealthy
image because the unwholesome ingredients contained Scott-Moncrieff (1999) states
that meals from fast food outlets usually containe over amount of salt fat chemical
additive preservatives and sugar and are insufficient in fiber It is equal to cheap food and
13
criticized as creating health problems such as obesity in human lives (Lobstein 1988
Ritzer 2001)
Nevertheless still many people consume fast food According to Schlosser (2001)
consumers spent about US$110 billion on fast food in the United States alone in 2000
That is said that about 200 people in the United States ordered one or more hamburgers
in every second On the other hand Chinarsquos fast food industry developed at a rate of over
20 annually in the 1990s much faster than the 78 annual increase in Chinarsquos gross
domestic product (Wong 2002) By the year 2000 fast food had become the biggest and
most attractive profit opportunity in Chinarsquos commodity and labor markets with an annual
turnover of over 200 billion Yuan (Wong 2002) All these can show that fast food has
grown remarkably both in developed countries and developing countries and quick
service restaurants became a driving force in the overall food service industry
Ball (1992) suggests that fast food is a worldwide phenomenon with more and more
people having consumed the fast food products both in their own country and abroad
Renowned as the culinary capital of Asia Hong Kong boasts more than 11000
restaurants many of them clustered in defined food districts (Hong Kong Tourism Board
2008) People can eat anything they want in Hong Kong The history of Hong Kong fast
food industry can be traced back to 1970rsquos when McDonalds entered the Hong Kong fast
food market In the past two decades because of the changes in food consumption
patterns Hong Kong people became used to fill the stomach with fast food as their part of
their lives
The fast food market in Hong Kong is very competitive featuring a variety of chains
and choice of both Western and Chinese cuisine The fast food shop in Hong Kong
includes general restaurants and food factory with full licenses (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007) According to the same department the fast food shops
increased year by year from 10980 fast food shops in 2004 to 11793 of that in
14
2007(refer to table 21) There are more and more competitors entering this market
Therefore the fast food market in Hong Kong becomes very competitive
Table 21 Number of Fast food shops of Hong Kong
Year 2007 2006 2005 2004
Number of Fast food shops 11793 11703 11431 10980
Source Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007)
212 McDonalds Corporation
McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-service food industry
(Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) From the Business Week (2009) McDonaldrsquos was
ranking in the 8th in 2007 brand rank
At the beginning McDonalds was a neighborhood restaurant only established in Des
Plaines Illinois Raymond Kroc (1902-1984) acquired franchising rights from the
McDonald brothers He then founded McDonalds Corporation in 1955 Nowadays
McDonalds has more than 31000 restaurants in more than 120 countries worldwide and
15
serve nearly 54 million customers each day (McDonalds Corporation 2008) It achieved a
significant market presence in terms of number of restaurants turnover and market share
213 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited was established in 1975 After rapidly
expanding today there are over 200 McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong and more
than 10000 McDonalds staff (McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong 2008)
McDonalds sells high quality hygienically prepared food at affordable prices and
gives speedy and courteous services It serves the world some of its favorite foods such
as French Fries Big Mac Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin
McDonalds brought the McCafeacute to Hong Kong in 1999 (McDonalds Corporation of
Hong Kong 2008) They aimed to provide a relax environment for dinning and put their
focus on the office guys students teens etc McCafeacute offers a wide variety of cakes
pastries and muffins as well as specialty coffee and tea
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
6
Contents
Page
Acknowledgementhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipi
Abstracthelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipii-iii
List of Tableshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipiv
List of Figureshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipv
Contentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipvi-viii
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Informationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip1-4
12 Aimshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip5
13 Objectiveshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip5
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Foodhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6-8
212 McDonaldrsquos Corporationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip9
213 McDonaldrsquos Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limitedhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip10
7
214 Mission Statement of McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11-12
22 The Characteristics of Youthshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 13-14
23 Definitions
231 Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15-16
232 Qualityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17
233 Service Qualitieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18-19
234 Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20-22
24 Characteristics of Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip23-24
25 Measuring service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25-27
252 SERVQUALhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28-29
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip30-31
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip32-33
32 Primary Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34
321 Quantitative Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35
322 Pilot Testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36
33 Secondary Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37
34 Descriptive Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38
35 Data Collection
351 Primary Datahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39
352 Secondary Datahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Designhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40-41
362 Population and Sampleshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42-43
363 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44
37 Reliability and Validity of the Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip45
38 Limitationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip46
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47-51
8
42 The Performance of Service Quality52-55
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 55-57
44 Attributes for improvementhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 58-60
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphellip61-62
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of
Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip63-64
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip65-66
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 67-68
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 69-71
53 Further Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip72
Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 73-83
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnairehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip84-88
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Testshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip89-90
9
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Information
Nowadays customer satisfaction is becoming more and more important because it is
very useful for companies It is not only helping companies to retain existing customers
but also capture new customers As a result companies do whatever they can to improve
their customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a key element for contemporary
organizations to deliver high quality products and service as well as to position firms
competitively in the marketplace (Chan and Baum 2007) In the ever-increasing
competitive environment one of the most important tasks for managers is to focus on
guest satisfaction because happy guests are returning customers and they will spread
positive advertising through word of mouth as a form of free marketing In doing so the
mangers must understand how their guests evaluate experiences and what service quality
attributes lead to guest satisfaction before strategizing approaches to improve guest
satisfaction
Contrary to the cognitive focus of customer satisfaction service quality is also a key
objective for companies to survive in todayrsquos increasingly competitive economic
environment Service quality can affect customer satisfaction higher service quality leads
to higher customer satisfaction and thus results in higher repeat purchases cross-selling
and positive word of-mouth communicationsmdashall of which help the business firms achieve
higher sales revenues profits and market shares (Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008)
Management of the organizations does recognize the importance of delivering high-quality
services until starting from the 90rsquos Hong Kong started to strongly promote the
importance of service quality For example the authority used famous artist Andy Lau as
a spokesman in a series of advertisements to bring out the message ldquowhat service should
like todayrdquo to inform the importance of service (You Tube 2006) In the TV commercials it
showed that people became more caring about the service quality
10
Recently customer satisfaction and service quality are hot topics for many
researches (Bowen 2001 Choi amp Chu 2001 Gary and Gary 2007) However there is no
one particular article that can thoroughly state how service quality affects customer
satisfaction Therefore this research is interested in finding out the relationship between
service quality and customer satisfaction and how service quality affects customer
satisfaction
On the other hand McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-
service food industry (Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) Wherever you are you can get what
you want from McDonaldrsquos consistent service and food quality In the past people went to
McDonaldrsquos because they thought that it could fill them and it could save time Nowadays
the major goal of McDonaldrsquos was still to provide fast service However people now have
more expectations for McDonaldrsquos When customers dine at McDonaldrsquos time efficiency
and getting themselves filled were not the sole considerations they would also consider
whether the level of service quality achieve their perception or not and whether it was
value for money This was due to the change of social culture such as education and
lifestyle Higher education background makes people concern more about the quality of
products they purchase and they would like to enjoy more service in the purchasing
experience
In order to face the changing needs of customers McDonaldrsquos is changing its
strategies from time to time in Hong Kong also It has to be more flexible To lead the
competing edge nowadays providing appropriate service becomes the most important
element Now McDonaldrsquos does not only talk about the ways to deliver the food but also
customer service Fast serving quality food and appropriate customer service are the
elements to success in this fast food industry nowadays The determining element is
whether the customers --- the youths are satisfied with what the restaurants provide or
not According to a survey published in IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns
Yearbook 2002 about 685 of males aging from 16 to 24 purchased fast food in the past
11
three months and about 77 of females from the same age group purchased fast food in
the past three months (Wong 2002) It showed youths were the largest group of
customers of McDonalds
Therefore researcher is interested in finding out how McDonalds satisfy its
customers What is the most important element affecting the satisfaction of youths Is it
service quality These are the reasons why researcher wants to study this topic and
choose McDonaldrsquos as the target organization
This study is organized into five sections with an introduction to the study provided in
this section the next section delves into a discussion of a service quality and customer
satisfaction concept and its measurement Research methodology used in the study and
the results are discussed next The final section sums up the discussion and provides
recommendations for McDonaldrsquos to improve Customer Satisfaction
12 Aims
From the youthsrsquo point of view to examine how service quality of Hong Kong
McDonalds affects its customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction
through service quality enhancement
13 Objectives
- To understand what is service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the youthsrsquo customer behavior so as to examine their satisfaction to the
service quality of McDonalds
12
- To study how to measure service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the importance of service quality to customer satisfaction of
McDonalds and provides recommendations to McDonalds
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Food
The term fast food was recognized in a dictionary by Merrian-Webster in 1951
(Wikipedia 2009) There are different ways to define fast food without single definition or
interpretation (Ball 1992) Fast food is defined as hot freshly prepared and wrapped food
items served to customers across a counter or through a drive-up window (Encyclopedia
of Food and Culture 2003) In other words fast food is convenient food that can be
prepared and served very quickly
Meanwhile fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and is often associated with unhealthy
image because the unwholesome ingredients contained Scott-Moncrieff (1999) states
that meals from fast food outlets usually containe over amount of salt fat chemical
additive preservatives and sugar and are insufficient in fiber It is equal to cheap food and
13
criticized as creating health problems such as obesity in human lives (Lobstein 1988
Ritzer 2001)
Nevertheless still many people consume fast food According to Schlosser (2001)
consumers spent about US$110 billion on fast food in the United States alone in 2000
That is said that about 200 people in the United States ordered one or more hamburgers
in every second On the other hand Chinarsquos fast food industry developed at a rate of over
20 annually in the 1990s much faster than the 78 annual increase in Chinarsquos gross
domestic product (Wong 2002) By the year 2000 fast food had become the biggest and
most attractive profit opportunity in Chinarsquos commodity and labor markets with an annual
turnover of over 200 billion Yuan (Wong 2002) All these can show that fast food has
grown remarkably both in developed countries and developing countries and quick
service restaurants became a driving force in the overall food service industry
Ball (1992) suggests that fast food is a worldwide phenomenon with more and more
people having consumed the fast food products both in their own country and abroad
Renowned as the culinary capital of Asia Hong Kong boasts more than 11000
restaurants many of them clustered in defined food districts (Hong Kong Tourism Board
2008) People can eat anything they want in Hong Kong The history of Hong Kong fast
food industry can be traced back to 1970rsquos when McDonalds entered the Hong Kong fast
food market In the past two decades because of the changes in food consumption
patterns Hong Kong people became used to fill the stomach with fast food as their part of
their lives
The fast food market in Hong Kong is very competitive featuring a variety of chains
and choice of both Western and Chinese cuisine The fast food shop in Hong Kong
includes general restaurants and food factory with full licenses (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007) According to the same department the fast food shops
increased year by year from 10980 fast food shops in 2004 to 11793 of that in
14
2007(refer to table 21) There are more and more competitors entering this market
Therefore the fast food market in Hong Kong becomes very competitive
Table 21 Number of Fast food shops of Hong Kong
Year 2007 2006 2005 2004
Number of Fast food shops 11793 11703 11431 10980
Source Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007)
212 McDonalds Corporation
McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-service food industry
(Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) From the Business Week (2009) McDonaldrsquos was
ranking in the 8th in 2007 brand rank
At the beginning McDonalds was a neighborhood restaurant only established in Des
Plaines Illinois Raymond Kroc (1902-1984) acquired franchising rights from the
McDonald brothers He then founded McDonalds Corporation in 1955 Nowadays
McDonalds has more than 31000 restaurants in more than 120 countries worldwide and
15
serve nearly 54 million customers each day (McDonalds Corporation 2008) It achieved a
significant market presence in terms of number of restaurants turnover and market share
213 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited was established in 1975 After rapidly
expanding today there are over 200 McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong and more
than 10000 McDonalds staff (McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong 2008)
McDonalds sells high quality hygienically prepared food at affordable prices and
gives speedy and courteous services It serves the world some of its favorite foods such
as French Fries Big Mac Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin
McDonalds brought the McCafeacute to Hong Kong in 1999 (McDonalds Corporation of
Hong Kong 2008) They aimed to provide a relax environment for dinning and put their
focus on the office guys students teens etc McCafeacute offers a wide variety of cakes
pastries and muffins as well as specialty coffee and tea
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
7
214 Mission Statement of McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11-12
22 The Characteristics of Youthshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 13-14
23 Definitions
231 Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15-16
232 Qualityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17
233 Service Qualitieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18-19
234 Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip20-22
24 Characteristics of Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip23-24
25 Measuring service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip25-27
252 SERVQUALhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip28-29
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Modelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip30-31
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip32-33
32 Primary Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip34
321 Quantitative Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip35
322 Pilot Testhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip36
33 Secondary Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37
34 Descriptive Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip38
35 Data Collection
351 Primary Datahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip39
352 Secondary Datahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Designhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip40-41
362 Population and Sampleshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip42-43
363 Data Analysishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip44
37 Reliability and Validity of the Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip45
38 Limitationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip46
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 47-51
8
42 The Performance of Service Quality52-55
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 55-57
44 Attributes for improvementhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 58-60
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphellip61-62
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of
Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip63-64
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip65-66
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 67-68
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 69-71
53 Further Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip72
Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 73-83
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnairehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip84-88
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Testshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip89-90
9
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Information
Nowadays customer satisfaction is becoming more and more important because it is
very useful for companies It is not only helping companies to retain existing customers
but also capture new customers As a result companies do whatever they can to improve
their customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a key element for contemporary
organizations to deliver high quality products and service as well as to position firms
competitively in the marketplace (Chan and Baum 2007) In the ever-increasing
competitive environment one of the most important tasks for managers is to focus on
guest satisfaction because happy guests are returning customers and they will spread
positive advertising through word of mouth as a form of free marketing In doing so the
mangers must understand how their guests evaluate experiences and what service quality
attributes lead to guest satisfaction before strategizing approaches to improve guest
satisfaction
Contrary to the cognitive focus of customer satisfaction service quality is also a key
objective for companies to survive in todayrsquos increasingly competitive economic
environment Service quality can affect customer satisfaction higher service quality leads
to higher customer satisfaction and thus results in higher repeat purchases cross-selling
and positive word of-mouth communicationsmdashall of which help the business firms achieve
higher sales revenues profits and market shares (Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008)
Management of the organizations does recognize the importance of delivering high-quality
services until starting from the 90rsquos Hong Kong started to strongly promote the
importance of service quality For example the authority used famous artist Andy Lau as
a spokesman in a series of advertisements to bring out the message ldquowhat service should
like todayrdquo to inform the importance of service (You Tube 2006) In the TV commercials it
showed that people became more caring about the service quality
10
Recently customer satisfaction and service quality are hot topics for many
researches (Bowen 2001 Choi amp Chu 2001 Gary and Gary 2007) However there is no
one particular article that can thoroughly state how service quality affects customer
satisfaction Therefore this research is interested in finding out the relationship between
service quality and customer satisfaction and how service quality affects customer
satisfaction
On the other hand McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-
service food industry (Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) Wherever you are you can get what
you want from McDonaldrsquos consistent service and food quality In the past people went to
McDonaldrsquos because they thought that it could fill them and it could save time Nowadays
the major goal of McDonaldrsquos was still to provide fast service However people now have
more expectations for McDonaldrsquos When customers dine at McDonaldrsquos time efficiency
and getting themselves filled were not the sole considerations they would also consider
whether the level of service quality achieve their perception or not and whether it was
value for money This was due to the change of social culture such as education and
lifestyle Higher education background makes people concern more about the quality of
products they purchase and they would like to enjoy more service in the purchasing
experience
In order to face the changing needs of customers McDonaldrsquos is changing its
strategies from time to time in Hong Kong also It has to be more flexible To lead the
competing edge nowadays providing appropriate service becomes the most important
element Now McDonaldrsquos does not only talk about the ways to deliver the food but also
customer service Fast serving quality food and appropriate customer service are the
elements to success in this fast food industry nowadays The determining element is
whether the customers --- the youths are satisfied with what the restaurants provide or
not According to a survey published in IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns
Yearbook 2002 about 685 of males aging from 16 to 24 purchased fast food in the past
11
three months and about 77 of females from the same age group purchased fast food in
the past three months (Wong 2002) It showed youths were the largest group of
customers of McDonalds
Therefore researcher is interested in finding out how McDonalds satisfy its
customers What is the most important element affecting the satisfaction of youths Is it
service quality These are the reasons why researcher wants to study this topic and
choose McDonaldrsquos as the target organization
This study is organized into five sections with an introduction to the study provided in
this section the next section delves into a discussion of a service quality and customer
satisfaction concept and its measurement Research methodology used in the study and
the results are discussed next The final section sums up the discussion and provides
recommendations for McDonaldrsquos to improve Customer Satisfaction
12 Aims
From the youthsrsquo point of view to examine how service quality of Hong Kong
McDonalds affects its customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction
through service quality enhancement
13 Objectives
- To understand what is service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the youthsrsquo customer behavior so as to examine their satisfaction to the
service quality of McDonalds
12
- To study how to measure service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the importance of service quality to customer satisfaction of
McDonalds and provides recommendations to McDonalds
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Food
The term fast food was recognized in a dictionary by Merrian-Webster in 1951
(Wikipedia 2009) There are different ways to define fast food without single definition or
interpretation (Ball 1992) Fast food is defined as hot freshly prepared and wrapped food
items served to customers across a counter or through a drive-up window (Encyclopedia
of Food and Culture 2003) In other words fast food is convenient food that can be
prepared and served very quickly
Meanwhile fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and is often associated with unhealthy
image because the unwholesome ingredients contained Scott-Moncrieff (1999) states
that meals from fast food outlets usually containe over amount of salt fat chemical
additive preservatives and sugar and are insufficient in fiber It is equal to cheap food and
13
criticized as creating health problems such as obesity in human lives (Lobstein 1988
Ritzer 2001)
Nevertheless still many people consume fast food According to Schlosser (2001)
consumers spent about US$110 billion on fast food in the United States alone in 2000
That is said that about 200 people in the United States ordered one or more hamburgers
in every second On the other hand Chinarsquos fast food industry developed at a rate of over
20 annually in the 1990s much faster than the 78 annual increase in Chinarsquos gross
domestic product (Wong 2002) By the year 2000 fast food had become the biggest and
most attractive profit opportunity in Chinarsquos commodity and labor markets with an annual
turnover of over 200 billion Yuan (Wong 2002) All these can show that fast food has
grown remarkably both in developed countries and developing countries and quick
service restaurants became a driving force in the overall food service industry
Ball (1992) suggests that fast food is a worldwide phenomenon with more and more
people having consumed the fast food products both in their own country and abroad
Renowned as the culinary capital of Asia Hong Kong boasts more than 11000
restaurants many of them clustered in defined food districts (Hong Kong Tourism Board
2008) People can eat anything they want in Hong Kong The history of Hong Kong fast
food industry can be traced back to 1970rsquos when McDonalds entered the Hong Kong fast
food market In the past two decades because of the changes in food consumption
patterns Hong Kong people became used to fill the stomach with fast food as their part of
their lives
The fast food market in Hong Kong is very competitive featuring a variety of chains
and choice of both Western and Chinese cuisine The fast food shop in Hong Kong
includes general restaurants and food factory with full licenses (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007) According to the same department the fast food shops
increased year by year from 10980 fast food shops in 2004 to 11793 of that in
14
2007(refer to table 21) There are more and more competitors entering this market
Therefore the fast food market in Hong Kong becomes very competitive
Table 21 Number of Fast food shops of Hong Kong
Year 2007 2006 2005 2004
Number of Fast food shops 11793 11703 11431 10980
Source Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007)
212 McDonalds Corporation
McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-service food industry
(Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) From the Business Week (2009) McDonaldrsquos was
ranking in the 8th in 2007 brand rank
At the beginning McDonalds was a neighborhood restaurant only established in Des
Plaines Illinois Raymond Kroc (1902-1984) acquired franchising rights from the
McDonald brothers He then founded McDonalds Corporation in 1955 Nowadays
McDonalds has more than 31000 restaurants in more than 120 countries worldwide and
15
serve nearly 54 million customers each day (McDonalds Corporation 2008) It achieved a
significant market presence in terms of number of restaurants turnover and market share
213 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited was established in 1975 After rapidly
expanding today there are over 200 McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong and more
than 10000 McDonalds staff (McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong 2008)
McDonalds sells high quality hygienically prepared food at affordable prices and
gives speedy and courteous services It serves the world some of its favorite foods such
as French Fries Big Mac Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin
McDonalds brought the McCafeacute to Hong Kong in 1999 (McDonalds Corporation of
Hong Kong 2008) They aimed to provide a relax environment for dinning and put their
focus on the office guys students teens etc McCafeacute offers a wide variety of cakes
pastries and muffins as well as specialty coffee and tea
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
8
42 The Performance of Service Quality52-55
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 55-57
44 Attributes for improvementhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 58-60
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfactionhelliphelliphellip61-62
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of
Satisfactionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip63-64
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip65-66
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 67-68
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquoshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 69-71
53 Further Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip72
Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 73-83
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnairehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip84-88
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Testshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip89-90
9
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Information
Nowadays customer satisfaction is becoming more and more important because it is
very useful for companies It is not only helping companies to retain existing customers
but also capture new customers As a result companies do whatever they can to improve
their customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a key element for contemporary
organizations to deliver high quality products and service as well as to position firms
competitively in the marketplace (Chan and Baum 2007) In the ever-increasing
competitive environment one of the most important tasks for managers is to focus on
guest satisfaction because happy guests are returning customers and they will spread
positive advertising through word of mouth as a form of free marketing In doing so the
mangers must understand how their guests evaluate experiences and what service quality
attributes lead to guest satisfaction before strategizing approaches to improve guest
satisfaction
Contrary to the cognitive focus of customer satisfaction service quality is also a key
objective for companies to survive in todayrsquos increasingly competitive economic
environment Service quality can affect customer satisfaction higher service quality leads
to higher customer satisfaction and thus results in higher repeat purchases cross-selling
and positive word of-mouth communicationsmdashall of which help the business firms achieve
higher sales revenues profits and market shares (Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008)
Management of the organizations does recognize the importance of delivering high-quality
services until starting from the 90rsquos Hong Kong started to strongly promote the
importance of service quality For example the authority used famous artist Andy Lau as
a spokesman in a series of advertisements to bring out the message ldquowhat service should
like todayrdquo to inform the importance of service (You Tube 2006) In the TV commercials it
showed that people became more caring about the service quality
10
Recently customer satisfaction and service quality are hot topics for many
researches (Bowen 2001 Choi amp Chu 2001 Gary and Gary 2007) However there is no
one particular article that can thoroughly state how service quality affects customer
satisfaction Therefore this research is interested in finding out the relationship between
service quality and customer satisfaction and how service quality affects customer
satisfaction
On the other hand McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-
service food industry (Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) Wherever you are you can get what
you want from McDonaldrsquos consistent service and food quality In the past people went to
McDonaldrsquos because they thought that it could fill them and it could save time Nowadays
the major goal of McDonaldrsquos was still to provide fast service However people now have
more expectations for McDonaldrsquos When customers dine at McDonaldrsquos time efficiency
and getting themselves filled were not the sole considerations they would also consider
whether the level of service quality achieve their perception or not and whether it was
value for money This was due to the change of social culture such as education and
lifestyle Higher education background makes people concern more about the quality of
products they purchase and they would like to enjoy more service in the purchasing
experience
In order to face the changing needs of customers McDonaldrsquos is changing its
strategies from time to time in Hong Kong also It has to be more flexible To lead the
competing edge nowadays providing appropriate service becomes the most important
element Now McDonaldrsquos does not only talk about the ways to deliver the food but also
customer service Fast serving quality food and appropriate customer service are the
elements to success in this fast food industry nowadays The determining element is
whether the customers --- the youths are satisfied with what the restaurants provide or
not According to a survey published in IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns
Yearbook 2002 about 685 of males aging from 16 to 24 purchased fast food in the past
11
three months and about 77 of females from the same age group purchased fast food in
the past three months (Wong 2002) It showed youths were the largest group of
customers of McDonalds
Therefore researcher is interested in finding out how McDonalds satisfy its
customers What is the most important element affecting the satisfaction of youths Is it
service quality These are the reasons why researcher wants to study this topic and
choose McDonaldrsquos as the target organization
This study is organized into five sections with an introduction to the study provided in
this section the next section delves into a discussion of a service quality and customer
satisfaction concept and its measurement Research methodology used in the study and
the results are discussed next The final section sums up the discussion and provides
recommendations for McDonaldrsquos to improve Customer Satisfaction
12 Aims
From the youthsrsquo point of view to examine how service quality of Hong Kong
McDonalds affects its customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction
through service quality enhancement
13 Objectives
- To understand what is service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the youthsrsquo customer behavior so as to examine their satisfaction to the
service quality of McDonalds
12
- To study how to measure service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the importance of service quality to customer satisfaction of
McDonalds and provides recommendations to McDonalds
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Food
The term fast food was recognized in a dictionary by Merrian-Webster in 1951
(Wikipedia 2009) There are different ways to define fast food without single definition or
interpretation (Ball 1992) Fast food is defined as hot freshly prepared and wrapped food
items served to customers across a counter or through a drive-up window (Encyclopedia
of Food and Culture 2003) In other words fast food is convenient food that can be
prepared and served very quickly
Meanwhile fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and is often associated with unhealthy
image because the unwholesome ingredients contained Scott-Moncrieff (1999) states
that meals from fast food outlets usually containe over amount of salt fat chemical
additive preservatives and sugar and are insufficient in fiber It is equal to cheap food and
13
criticized as creating health problems such as obesity in human lives (Lobstein 1988
Ritzer 2001)
Nevertheless still many people consume fast food According to Schlosser (2001)
consumers spent about US$110 billion on fast food in the United States alone in 2000
That is said that about 200 people in the United States ordered one or more hamburgers
in every second On the other hand Chinarsquos fast food industry developed at a rate of over
20 annually in the 1990s much faster than the 78 annual increase in Chinarsquos gross
domestic product (Wong 2002) By the year 2000 fast food had become the biggest and
most attractive profit opportunity in Chinarsquos commodity and labor markets with an annual
turnover of over 200 billion Yuan (Wong 2002) All these can show that fast food has
grown remarkably both in developed countries and developing countries and quick
service restaurants became a driving force in the overall food service industry
Ball (1992) suggests that fast food is a worldwide phenomenon with more and more
people having consumed the fast food products both in their own country and abroad
Renowned as the culinary capital of Asia Hong Kong boasts more than 11000
restaurants many of them clustered in defined food districts (Hong Kong Tourism Board
2008) People can eat anything they want in Hong Kong The history of Hong Kong fast
food industry can be traced back to 1970rsquos when McDonalds entered the Hong Kong fast
food market In the past two decades because of the changes in food consumption
patterns Hong Kong people became used to fill the stomach with fast food as their part of
their lives
The fast food market in Hong Kong is very competitive featuring a variety of chains
and choice of both Western and Chinese cuisine The fast food shop in Hong Kong
includes general restaurants and food factory with full licenses (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007) According to the same department the fast food shops
increased year by year from 10980 fast food shops in 2004 to 11793 of that in
14
2007(refer to table 21) There are more and more competitors entering this market
Therefore the fast food market in Hong Kong becomes very competitive
Table 21 Number of Fast food shops of Hong Kong
Year 2007 2006 2005 2004
Number of Fast food shops 11793 11703 11431 10980
Source Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007)
212 McDonalds Corporation
McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-service food industry
(Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) From the Business Week (2009) McDonaldrsquos was
ranking in the 8th in 2007 brand rank
At the beginning McDonalds was a neighborhood restaurant only established in Des
Plaines Illinois Raymond Kroc (1902-1984) acquired franchising rights from the
McDonald brothers He then founded McDonalds Corporation in 1955 Nowadays
McDonalds has more than 31000 restaurants in more than 120 countries worldwide and
15
serve nearly 54 million customers each day (McDonalds Corporation 2008) It achieved a
significant market presence in terms of number of restaurants turnover and market share
213 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited was established in 1975 After rapidly
expanding today there are over 200 McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong and more
than 10000 McDonalds staff (McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong 2008)
McDonalds sells high quality hygienically prepared food at affordable prices and
gives speedy and courteous services It serves the world some of its favorite foods such
as French Fries Big Mac Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin
McDonalds brought the McCafeacute to Hong Kong in 1999 (McDonalds Corporation of
Hong Kong 2008) They aimed to provide a relax environment for dinning and put their
focus on the office guys students teens etc McCafeacute offers a wide variety of cakes
pastries and muffins as well as specialty coffee and tea
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
9
Chapter 1 ndash Introduction
11 Background Information
Nowadays customer satisfaction is becoming more and more important because it is
very useful for companies It is not only helping companies to retain existing customers
but also capture new customers As a result companies do whatever they can to improve
their customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a key element for contemporary
organizations to deliver high quality products and service as well as to position firms
competitively in the marketplace (Chan and Baum 2007) In the ever-increasing
competitive environment one of the most important tasks for managers is to focus on
guest satisfaction because happy guests are returning customers and they will spread
positive advertising through word of mouth as a form of free marketing In doing so the
mangers must understand how their guests evaluate experiences and what service quality
attributes lead to guest satisfaction before strategizing approaches to improve guest
satisfaction
Contrary to the cognitive focus of customer satisfaction service quality is also a key
objective for companies to survive in todayrsquos increasingly competitive economic
environment Service quality can affect customer satisfaction higher service quality leads
to higher customer satisfaction and thus results in higher repeat purchases cross-selling
and positive word of-mouth communicationsmdashall of which help the business firms achieve
higher sales revenues profits and market shares (Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008)
Management of the organizations does recognize the importance of delivering high-quality
services until starting from the 90rsquos Hong Kong started to strongly promote the
importance of service quality For example the authority used famous artist Andy Lau as
a spokesman in a series of advertisements to bring out the message ldquowhat service should
like todayrdquo to inform the importance of service (You Tube 2006) In the TV commercials it
showed that people became more caring about the service quality
10
Recently customer satisfaction and service quality are hot topics for many
researches (Bowen 2001 Choi amp Chu 2001 Gary and Gary 2007) However there is no
one particular article that can thoroughly state how service quality affects customer
satisfaction Therefore this research is interested in finding out the relationship between
service quality and customer satisfaction and how service quality affects customer
satisfaction
On the other hand McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-
service food industry (Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) Wherever you are you can get what
you want from McDonaldrsquos consistent service and food quality In the past people went to
McDonaldrsquos because they thought that it could fill them and it could save time Nowadays
the major goal of McDonaldrsquos was still to provide fast service However people now have
more expectations for McDonaldrsquos When customers dine at McDonaldrsquos time efficiency
and getting themselves filled were not the sole considerations they would also consider
whether the level of service quality achieve their perception or not and whether it was
value for money This was due to the change of social culture such as education and
lifestyle Higher education background makes people concern more about the quality of
products they purchase and they would like to enjoy more service in the purchasing
experience
In order to face the changing needs of customers McDonaldrsquos is changing its
strategies from time to time in Hong Kong also It has to be more flexible To lead the
competing edge nowadays providing appropriate service becomes the most important
element Now McDonaldrsquos does not only talk about the ways to deliver the food but also
customer service Fast serving quality food and appropriate customer service are the
elements to success in this fast food industry nowadays The determining element is
whether the customers --- the youths are satisfied with what the restaurants provide or
not According to a survey published in IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns
Yearbook 2002 about 685 of males aging from 16 to 24 purchased fast food in the past
11
three months and about 77 of females from the same age group purchased fast food in
the past three months (Wong 2002) It showed youths were the largest group of
customers of McDonalds
Therefore researcher is interested in finding out how McDonalds satisfy its
customers What is the most important element affecting the satisfaction of youths Is it
service quality These are the reasons why researcher wants to study this topic and
choose McDonaldrsquos as the target organization
This study is organized into five sections with an introduction to the study provided in
this section the next section delves into a discussion of a service quality and customer
satisfaction concept and its measurement Research methodology used in the study and
the results are discussed next The final section sums up the discussion and provides
recommendations for McDonaldrsquos to improve Customer Satisfaction
12 Aims
From the youthsrsquo point of view to examine how service quality of Hong Kong
McDonalds affects its customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction
through service quality enhancement
13 Objectives
- To understand what is service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the youthsrsquo customer behavior so as to examine their satisfaction to the
service quality of McDonalds
12
- To study how to measure service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the importance of service quality to customer satisfaction of
McDonalds and provides recommendations to McDonalds
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Food
The term fast food was recognized in a dictionary by Merrian-Webster in 1951
(Wikipedia 2009) There are different ways to define fast food without single definition or
interpretation (Ball 1992) Fast food is defined as hot freshly prepared and wrapped food
items served to customers across a counter or through a drive-up window (Encyclopedia
of Food and Culture 2003) In other words fast food is convenient food that can be
prepared and served very quickly
Meanwhile fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and is often associated with unhealthy
image because the unwholesome ingredients contained Scott-Moncrieff (1999) states
that meals from fast food outlets usually containe over amount of salt fat chemical
additive preservatives and sugar and are insufficient in fiber It is equal to cheap food and
13
criticized as creating health problems such as obesity in human lives (Lobstein 1988
Ritzer 2001)
Nevertheless still many people consume fast food According to Schlosser (2001)
consumers spent about US$110 billion on fast food in the United States alone in 2000
That is said that about 200 people in the United States ordered one or more hamburgers
in every second On the other hand Chinarsquos fast food industry developed at a rate of over
20 annually in the 1990s much faster than the 78 annual increase in Chinarsquos gross
domestic product (Wong 2002) By the year 2000 fast food had become the biggest and
most attractive profit opportunity in Chinarsquos commodity and labor markets with an annual
turnover of over 200 billion Yuan (Wong 2002) All these can show that fast food has
grown remarkably both in developed countries and developing countries and quick
service restaurants became a driving force in the overall food service industry
Ball (1992) suggests that fast food is a worldwide phenomenon with more and more
people having consumed the fast food products both in their own country and abroad
Renowned as the culinary capital of Asia Hong Kong boasts more than 11000
restaurants many of them clustered in defined food districts (Hong Kong Tourism Board
2008) People can eat anything they want in Hong Kong The history of Hong Kong fast
food industry can be traced back to 1970rsquos when McDonalds entered the Hong Kong fast
food market In the past two decades because of the changes in food consumption
patterns Hong Kong people became used to fill the stomach with fast food as their part of
their lives
The fast food market in Hong Kong is very competitive featuring a variety of chains
and choice of both Western and Chinese cuisine The fast food shop in Hong Kong
includes general restaurants and food factory with full licenses (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007) According to the same department the fast food shops
increased year by year from 10980 fast food shops in 2004 to 11793 of that in
14
2007(refer to table 21) There are more and more competitors entering this market
Therefore the fast food market in Hong Kong becomes very competitive
Table 21 Number of Fast food shops of Hong Kong
Year 2007 2006 2005 2004
Number of Fast food shops 11793 11703 11431 10980
Source Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007)
212 McDonalds Corporation
McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-service food industry
(Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) From the Business Week (2009) McDonaldrsquos was
ranking in the 8th in 2007 brand rank
At the beginning McDonalds was a neighborhood restaurant only established in Des
Plaines Illinois Raymond Kroc (1902-1984) acquired franchising rights from the
McDonald brothers He then founded McDonalds Corporation in 1955 Nowadays
McDonalds has more than 31000 restaurants in more than 120 countries worldwide and
15
serve nearly 54 million customers each day (McDonalds Corporation 2008) It achieved a
significant market presence in terms of number of restaurants turnover and market share
213 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited was established in 1975 After rapidly
expanding today there are over 200 McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong and more
than 10000 McDonalds staff (McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong 2008)
McDonalds sells high quality hygienically prepared food at affordable prices and
gives speedy and courteous services It serves the world some of its favorite foods such
as French Fries Big Mac Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin
McDonalds brought the McCafeacute to Hong Kong in 1999 (McDonalds Corporation of
Hong Kong 2008) They aimed to provide a relax environment for dinning and put their
focus on the office guys students teens etc McCafeacute offers a wide variety of cakes
pastries and muffins as well as specialty coffee and tea
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
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Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
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Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
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Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
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Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
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httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
10
Recently customer satisfaction and service quality are hot topics for many
researches (Bowen 2001 Choi amp Chu 2001 Gary and Gary 2007) However there is no
one particular article that can thoroughly state how service quality affects customer
satisfaction Therefore this research is interested in finding out the relationship between
service quality and customer satisfaction and how service quality affects customer
satisfaction
On the other hand McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-
service food industry (Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) Wherever you are you can get what
you want from McDonaldrsquos consistent service and food quality In the past people went to
McDonaldrsquos because they thought that it could fill them and it could save time Nowadays
the major goal of McDonaldrsquos was still to provide fast service However people now have
more expectations for McDonaldrsquos When customers dine at McDonaldrsquos time efficiency
and getting themselves filled were not the sole considerations they would also consider
whether the level of service quality achieve their perception or not and whether it was
value for money This was due to the change of social culture such as education and
lifestyle Higher education background makes people concern more about the quality of
products they purchase and they would like to enjoy more service in the purchasing
experience
In order to face the changing needs of customers McDonaldrsquos is changing its
strategies from time to time in Hong Kong also It has to be more flexible To lead the
competing edge nowadays providing appropriate service becomes the most important
element Now McDonaldrsquos does not only talk about the ways to deliver the food but also
customer service Fast serving quality food and appropriate customer service are the
elements to success in this fast food industry nowadays The determining element is
whether the customers --- the youths are satisfied with what the restaurants provide or
not According to a survey published in IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns
Yearbook 2002 about 685 of males aging from 16 to 24 purchased fast food in the past
11
three months and about 77 of females from the same age group purchased fast food in
the past three months (Wong 2002) It showed youths were the largest group of
customers of McDonalds
Therefore researcher is interested in finding out how McDonalds satisfy its
customers What is the most important element affecting the satisfaction of youths Is it
service quality These are the reasons why researcher wants to study this topic and
choose McDonaldrsquos as the target organization
This study is organized into five sections with an introduction to the study provided in
this section the next section delves into a discussion of a service quality and customer
satisfaction concept and its measurement Research methodology used in the study and
the results are discussed next The final section sums up the discussion and provides
recommendations for McDonaldrsquos to improve Customer Satisfaction
12 Aims
From the youthsrsquo point of view to examine how service quality of Hong Kong
McDonalds affects its customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction
through service quality enhancement
13 Objectives
- To understand what is service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the youthsrsquo customer behavior so as to examine their satisfaction to the
service quality of McDonalds
12
- To study how to measure service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the importance of service quality to customer satisfaction of
McDonalds and provides recommendations to McDonalds
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Food
The term fast food was recognized in a dictionary by Merrian-Webster in 1951
(Wikipedia 2009) There are different ways to define fast food without single definition or
interpretation (Ball 1992) Fast food is defined as hot freshly prepared and wrapped food
items served to customers across a counter or through a drive-up window (Encyclopedia
of Food and Culture 2003) In other words fast food is convenient food that can be
prepared and served very quickly
Meanwhile fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and is often associated with unhealthy
image because the unwholesome ingredients contained Scott-Moncrieff (1999) states
that meals from fast food outlets usually containe over amount of salt fat chemical
additive preservatives and sugar and are insufficient in fiber It is equal to cheap food and
13
criticized as creating health problems such as obesity in human lives (Lobstein 1988
Ritzer 2001)
Nevertheless still many people consume fast food According to Schlosser (2001)
consumers spent about US$110 billion on fast food in the United States alone in 2000
That is said that about 200 people in the United States ordered one or more hamburgers
in every second On the other hand Chinarsquos fast food industry developed at a rate of over
20 annually in the 1990s much faster than the 78 annual increase in Chinarsquos gross
domestic product (Wong 2002) By the year 2000 fast food had become the biggest and
most attractive profit opportunity in Chinarsquos commodity and labor markets with an annual
turnover of over 200 billion Yuan (Wong 2002) All these can show that fast food has
grown remarkably both in developed countries and developing countries and quick
service restaurants became a driving force in the overall food service industry
Ball (1992) suggests that fast food is a worldwide phenomenon with more and more
people having consumed the fast food products both in their own country and abroad
Renowned as the culinary capital of Asia Hong Kong boasts more than 11000
restaurants many of them clustered in defined food districts (Hong Kong Tourism Board
2008) People can eat anything they want in Hong Kong The history of Hong Kong fast
food industry can be traced back to 1970rsquos when McDonalds entered the Hong Kong fast
food market In the past two decades because of the changes in food consumption
patterns Hong Kong people became used to fill the stomach with fast food as their part of
their lives
The fast food market in Hong Kong is very competitive featuring a variety of chains
and choice of both Western and Chinese cuisine The fast food shop in Hong Kong
includes general restaurants and food factory with full licenses (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007) According to the same department the fast food shops
increased year by year from 10980 fast food shops in 2004 to 11793 of that in
14
2007(refer to table 21) There are more and more competitors entering this market
Therefore the fast food market in Hong Kong becomes very competitive
Table 21 Number of Fast food shops of Hong Kong
Year 2007 2006 2005 2004
Number of Fast food shops 11793 11703 11431 10980
Source Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007)
212 McDonalds Corporation
McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-service food industry
(Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) From the Business Week (2009) McDonaldrsquos was
ranking in the 8th in 2007 brand rank
At the beginning McDonalds was a neighborhood restaurant only established in Des
Plaines Illinois Raymond Kroc (1902-1984) acquired franchising rights from the
McDonald brothers He then founded McDonalds Corporation in 1955 Nowadays
McDonalds has more than 31000 restaurants in more than 120 countries worldwide and
15
serve nearly 54 million customers each day (McDonalds Corporation 2008) It achieved a
significant market presence in terms of number of restaurants turnover and market share
213 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited was established in 1975 After rapidly
expanding today there are over 200 McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong and more
than 10000 McDonalds staff (McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong 2008)
McDonalds sells high quality hygienically prepared food at affordable prices and
gives speedy and courteous services It serves the world some of its favorite foods such
as French Fries Big Mac Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin
McDonalds brought the McCafeacute to Hong Kong in 1999 (McDonalds Corporation of
Hong Kong 2008) They aimed to provide a relax environment for dinning and put their
focus on the office guys students teens etc McCafeacute offers a wide variety of cakes
pastries and muffins as well as specialty coffee and tea
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
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Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
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Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
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Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
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Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
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Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
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Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
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Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
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Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
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Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
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Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
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Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
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amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
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Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
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Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
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Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
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Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
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Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
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Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
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Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
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Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
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Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
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Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
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Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
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Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
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Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
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Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
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Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
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Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
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Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
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Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
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McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
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McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
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Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
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Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
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Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
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Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
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Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
11
three months and about 77 of females from the same age group purchased fast food in
the past three months (Wong 2002) It showed youths were the largest group of
customers of McDonalds
Therefore researcher is interested in finding out how McDonalds satisfy its
customers What is the most important element affecting the satisfaction of youths Is it
service quality These are the reasons why researcher wants to study this topic and
choose McDonaldrsquos as the target organization
This study is organized into five sections with an introduction to the study provided in
this section the next section delves into a discussion of a service quality and customer
satisfaction concept and its measurement Research methodology used in the study and
the results are discussed next The final section sums up the discussion and provides
recommendations for McDonaldrsquos to improve Customer Satisfaction
12 Aims
From the youthsrsquo point of view to examine how service quality of Hong Kong
McDonalds affects its customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction
through service quality enhancement
13 Objectives
- To understand what is service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the youthsrsquo customer behavior so as to examine their satisfaction to the
service quality of McDonalds
12
- To study how to measure service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the importance of service quality to customer satisfaction of
McDonalds and provides recommendations to McDonalds
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Food
The term fast food was recognized in a dictionary by Merrian-Webster in 1951
(Wikipedia 2009) There are different ways to define fast food without single definition or
interpretation (Ball 1992) Fast food is defined as hot freshly prepared and wrapped food
items served to customers across a counter or through a drive-up window (Encyclopedia
of Food and Culture 2003) In other words fast food is convenient food that can be
prepared and served very quickly
Meanwhile fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and is often associated with unhealthy
image because the unwholesome ingredients contained Scott-Moncrieff (1999) states
that meals from fast food outlets usually containe over amount of salt fat chemical
additive preservatives and sugar and are insufficient in fiber It is equal to cheap food and
13
criticized as creating health problems such as obesity in human lives (Lobstein 1988
Ritzer 2001)
Nevertheless still many people consume fast food According to Schlosser (2001)
consumers spent about US$110 billion on fast food in the United States alone in 2000
That is said that about 200 people in the United States ordered one or more hamburgers
in every second On the other hand Chinarsquos fast food industry developed at a rate of over
20 annually in the 1990s much faster than the 78 annual increase in Chinarsquos gross
domestic product (Wong 2002) By the year 2000 fast food had become the biggest and
most attractive profit opportunity in Chinarsquos commodity and labor markets with an annual
turnover of over 200 billion Yuan (Wong 2002) All these can show that fast food has
grown remarkably both in developed countries and developing countries and quick
service restaurants became a driving force in the overall food service industry
Ball (1992) suggests that fast food is a worldwide phenomenon with more and more
people having consumed the fast food products both in their own country and abroad
Renowned as the culinary capital of Asia Hong Kong boasts more than 11000
restaurants many of them clustered in defined food districts (Hong Kong Tourism Board
2008) People can eat anything they want in Hong Kong The history of Hong Kong fast
food industry can be traced back to 1970rsquos when McDonalds entered the Hong Kong fast
food market In the past two decades because of the changes in food consumption
patterns Hong Kong people became used to fill the stomach with fast food as their part of
their lives
The fast food market in Hong Kong is very competitive featuring a variety of chains
and choice of both Western and Chinese cuisine The fast food shop in Hong Kong
includes general restaurants and food factory with full licenses (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007) According to the same department the fast food shops
increased year by year from 10980 fast food shops in 2004 to 11793 of that in
14
2007(refer to table 21) There are more and more competitors entering this market
Therefore the fast food market in Hong Kong becomes very competitive
Table 21 Number of Fast food shops of Hong Kong
Year 2007 2006 2005 2004
Number of Fast food shops 11793 11703 11431 10980
Source Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007)
212 McDonalds Corporation
McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-service food industry
(Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) From the Business Week (2009) McDonaldrsquos was
ranking in the 8th in 2007 brand rank
At the beginning McDonalds was a neighborhood restaurant only established in Des
Plaines Illinois Raymond Kroc (1902-1984) acquired franchising rights from the
McDonald brothers He then founded McDonalds Corporation in 1955 Nowadays
McDonalds has more than 31000 restaurants in more than 120 countries worldwide and
15
serve nearly 54 million customers each day (McDonalds Corporation 2008) It achieved a
significant market presence in terms of number of restaurants turnover and market share
213 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited was established in 1975 After rapidly
expanding today there are over 200 McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong and more
than 10000 McDonalds staff (McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong 2008)
McDonalds sells high quality hygienically prepared food at affordable prices and
gives speedy and courteous services It serves the world some of its favorite foods such
as French Fries Big Mac Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin
McDonalds brought the McCafeacute to Hong Kong in 1999 (McDonalds Corporation of
Hong Kong 2008) They aimed to provide a relax environment for dinning and put their
focus on the office guys students teens etc McCafeacute offers a wide variety of cakes
pastries and muffins as well as specialty coffee and tea
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
12
- To study how to measure service quality and customer satisfaction
- To analyze the importance of service quality to customer satisfaction of
McDonalds and provides recommendations to McDonalds
Chapter 2 ndash Literature Review
21 Backgrounds
211 Fast Food
The term fast food was recognized in a dictionary by Merrian-Webster in 1951
(Wikipedia 2009) There are different ways to define fast food without single definition or
interpretation (Ball 1992) Fast food is defined as hot freshly prepared and wrapped food
items served to customers across a counter or through a drive-up window (Encyclopedia
of Food and Culture 2003) In other words fast food is convenient food that can be
prepared and served very quickly
Meanwhile fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and is often associated with unhealthy
image because the unwholesome ingredients contained Scott-Moncrieff (1999) states
that meals from fast food outlets usually containe over amount of salt fat chemical
additive preservatives and sugar and are insufficient in fiber It is equal to cheap food and
13
criticized as creating health problems such as obesity in human lives (Lobstein 1988
Ritzer 2001)
Nevertheless still many people consume fast food According to Schlosser (2001)
consumers spent about US$110 billion on fast food in the United States alone in 2000
That is said that about 200 people in the United States ordered one or more hamburgers
in every second On the other hand Chinarsquos fast food industry developed at a rate of over
20 annually in the 1990s much faster than the 78 annual increase in Chinarsquos gross
domestic product (Wong 2002) By the year 2000 fast food had become the biggest and
most attractive profit opportunity in Chinarsquos commodity and labor markets with an annual
turnover of over 200 billion Yuan (Wong 2002) All these can show that fast food has
grown remarkably both in developed countries and developing countries and quick
service restaurants became a driving force in the overall food service industry
Ball (1992) suggests that fast food is a worldwide phenomenon with more and more
people having consumed the fast food products both in their own country and abroad
Renowned as the culinary capital of Asia Hong Kong boasts more than 11000
restaurants many of them clustered in defined food districts (Hong Kong Tourism Board
2008) People can eat anything they want in Hong Kong The history of Hong Kong fast
food industry can be traced back to 1970rsquos when McDonalds entered the Hong Kong fast
food market In the past two decades because of the changes in food consumption
patterns Hong Kong people became used to fill the stomach with fast food as their part of
their lives
The fast food market in Hong Kong is very competitive featuring a variety of chains
and choice of both Western and Chinese cuisine The fast food shop in Hong Kong
includes general restaurants and food factory with full licenses (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007) According to the same department the fast food shops
increased year by year from 10980 fast food shops in 2004 to 11793 of that in
14
2007(refer to table 21) There are more and more competitors entering this market
Therefore the fast food market in Hong Kong becomes very competitive
Table 21 Number of Fast food shops of Hong Kong
Year 2007 2006 2005 2004
Number of Fast food shops 11793 11703 11431 10980
Source Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007)
212 McDonalds Corporation
McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-service food industry
(Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) From the Business Week (2009) McDonaldrsquos was
ranking in the 8th in 2007 brand rank
At the beginning McDonalds was a neighborhood restaurant only established in Des
Plaines Illinois Raymond Kroc (1902-1984) acquired franchising rights from the
McDonald brothers He then founded McDonalds Corporation in 1955 Nowadays
McDonalds has more than 31000 restaurants in more than 120 countries worldwide and
15
serve nearly 54 million customers each day (McDonalds Corporation 2008) It achieved a
significant market presence in terms of number of restaurants turnover and market share
213 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited was established in 1975 After rapidly
expanding today there are over 200 McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong and more
than 10000 McDonalds staff (McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong 2008)
McDonalds sells high quality hygienically prepared food at affordable prices and
gives speedy and courteous services It serves the world some of its favorite foods such
as French Fries Big Mac Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin
McDonalds brought the McCafeacute to Hong Kong in 1999 (McDonalds Corporation of
Hong Kong 2008) They aimed to provide a relax environment for dinning and put their
focus on the office guys students teens etc McCafeacute offers a wide variety of cakes
pastries and muffins as well as specialty coffee and tea
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
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62
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Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
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Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
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Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
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Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
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httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
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Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
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70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
13
criticized as creating health problems such as obesity in human lives (Lobstein 1988
Ritzer 2001)
Nevertheless still many people consume fast food According to Schlosser (2001)
consumers spent about US$110 billion on fast food in the United States alone in 2000
That is said that about 200 people in the United States ordered one or more hamburgers
in every second On the other hand Chinarsquos fast food industry developed at a rate of over
20 annually in the 1990s much faster than the 78 annual increase in Chinarsquos gross
domestic product (Wong 2002) By the year 2000 fast food had become the biggest and
most attractive profit opportunity in Chinarsquos commodity and labor markets with an annual
turnover of over 200 billion Yuan (Wong 2002) All these can show that fast food has
grown remarkably both in developed countries and developing countries and quick
service restaurants became a driving force in the overall food service industry
Ball (1992) suggests that fast food is a worldwide phenomenon with more and more
people having consumed the fast food products both in their own country and abroad
Renowned as the culinary capital of Asia Hong Kong boasts more than 11000
restaurants many of them clustered in defined food districts (Hong Kong Tourism Board
2008) People can eat anything they want in Hong Kong The history of Hong Kong fast
food industry can be traced back to 1970rsquos when McDonalds entered the Hong Kong fast
food market In the past two decades because of the changes in food consumption
patterns Hong Kong people became used to fill the stomach with fast food as their part of
their lives
The fast food market in Hong Kong is very competitive featuring a variety of chains
and choice of both Western and Chinese cuisine The fast food shop in Hong Kong
includes general restaurants and food factory with full licenses (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007) According to the same department the fast food shops
increased year by year from 10980 fast food shops in 2004 to 11793 of that in
14
2007(refer to table 21) There are more and more competitors entering this market
Therefore the fast food market in Hong Kong becomes very competitive
Table 21 Number of Fast food shops of Hong Kong
Year 2007 2006 2005 2004
Number of Fast food shops 11793 11703 11431 10980
Source Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007)
212 McDonalds Corporation
McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-service food industry
(Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) From the Business Week (2009) McDonaldrsquos was
ranking in the 8th in 2007 brand rank
At the beginning McDonalds was a neighborhood restaurant only established in Des
Plaines Illinois Raymond Kroc (1902-1984) acquired franchising rights from the
McDonald brothers He then founded McDonalds Corporation in 1955 Nowadays
McDonalds has more than 31000 restaurants in more than 120 countries worldwide and
15
serve nearly 54 million customers each day (McDonalds Corporation 2008) It achieved a
significant market presence in terms of number of restaurants turnover and market share
213 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited was established in 1975 After rapidly
expanding today there are over 200 McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong and more
than 10000 McDonalds staff (McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong 2008)
McDonalds sells high quality hygienically prepared food at affordable prices and
gives speedy and courteous services It serves the world some of its favorite foods such
as French Fries Big Mac Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin
McDonalds brought the McCafeacute to Hong Kong in 1999 (McDonalds Corporation of
Hong Kong 2008) They aimed to provide a relax environment for dinning and put their
focus on the office guys students teens etc McCafeacute offers a wide variety of cakes
pastries and muffins as well as specialty coffee and tea
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
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Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
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Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
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Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
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Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
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Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
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Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
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Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
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Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
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Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
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Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
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amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
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Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
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Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
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httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
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Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
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Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
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Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
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Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
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Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
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Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
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Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
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McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
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McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
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pp 72-91
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Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
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Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
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Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
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Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
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Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
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Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
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The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
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Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
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69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
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12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
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70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
14
2007(refer to table 21) There are more and more competitors entering this market
Therefore the fast food market in Hong Kong becomes very competitive
Table 21 Number of Fast food shops of Hong Kong
Year 2007 2006 2005 2004
Number of Fast food shops 11793 11703 11431 10980
Source Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007)
212 McDonalds Corporation
McDonalds is the best-know symbol of the fast-moving quick-service food industry
(Gould 1995 Schlosser 2001) From the Business Week (2009) McDonaldrsquos was
ranking in the 8th in 2007 brand rank
At the beginning McDonalds was a neighborhood restaurant only established in Des
Plaines Illinois Raymond Kroc (1902-1984) acquired franchising rights from the
McDonald brothers He then founded McDonalds Corporation in 1955 Nowadays
McDonalds has more than 31000 restaurants in more than 120 countries worldwide and
15
serve nearly 54 million customers each day (McDonalds Corporation 2008) It achieved a
significant market presence in terms of number of restaurants turnover and market share
213 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited was established in 1975 After rapidly
expanding today there are over 200 McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong and more
than 10000 McDonalds staff (McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong 2008)
McDonalds sells high quality hygienically prepared food at affordable prices and
gives speedy and courteous services It serves the world some of its favorite foods such
as French Fries Big Mac Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin
McDonalds brought the McCafeacute to Hong Kong in 1999 (McDonalds Corporation of
Hong Kong 2008) They aimed to provide a relax environment for dinning and put their
focus on the office guys students teens etc McCafeacute offers a wide variety of cakes
pastries and muffins as well as specialty coffee and tea
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
15
serve nearly 54 million customers each day (McDonalds Corporation 2008) It achieved a
significant market presence in terms of number of restaurants turnover and market share
213 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited was established in 1975 After rapidly
expanding today there are over 200 McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong and more
than 10000 McDonalds staff (McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong 2008)
McDonalds sells high quality hygienically prepared food at affordable prices and
gives speedy and courteous services It serves the world some of its favorite foods such
as French Fries Big Mac Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin
McDonalds brought the McCafeacute to Hong Kong in 1999 (McDonalds Corporation of
Hong Kong 2008) They aimed to provide a relax environment for dinning and put their
focus on the office guys students teens etc McCafeacute offers a wide variety of cakes
pastries and muffins as well as specialty coffee and tea
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
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Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
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Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
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Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
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Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
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Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
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Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
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Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
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Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
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Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
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Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
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Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
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McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
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Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
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Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
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The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
16
214 Mission Statement of McDonalds
A good mission statement can affect a company substantially as it points direction
for the company The mission of McDonalds has been changing based on different
historical backgrounds Now the mission of McDonalds is to Be our customers favorite
place and way to eat (McDonalds Corporation 2008) McDonalds is committed to
improving its operations and enhancing its customers experience
From the mission it can be interpreted that it places its strategic focus on ldquoBeing
better not just biggerrdquo It has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers
and superior values to shareholders Also it has pointed out the most important thing to
customers - ldquofavorite place and way to eatrdquo To attain the mission statement staff
commitment is very important therefore ldquoLet the employees continue to learn share and
innovaterdquo is what McDonaldrsquos believes in Derived from the mission statement there are
seven key values of McDonalds For example it is committed to people including staff
customer and shareholders etc McDonalds believes staff can provide high service quality
to customers if they are well trained
Understanding the mission of McDonalds is very important as it stands for a
western management culture It is about service quality and commitment For example
McDonalds will drop out some hamburgers if they cannot sell in a period of time as the
temperature decreases By doing so McDonalds can control the quality of hamburgers
Also to assure staff quality McDonaldrsquos trains its staff at its corporate schools
Hamburger University which has a branch campus in Hong Kong With such as
evidences McDonalds caring service quality can be revealed from its mission statement
Therefore it is necessary to understand the mission statement of McDonalds
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
17
22 The Characteristics of Youths
According to the 2006 Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region youths can be defined as
persons who aged from 15 to 24 for both sexes From the same report there were
909005 youths in Hong Kong in 2006 the average annual growth rate of youths was
20 with 132 of the youths in the total population showing that youths are the major
potential market for McDonalds
Therefore in this study researcher only targeted on youths aged 18 to 24 in both
sexes It was because in order to complete the research questionnaires were distributed
to collect information and for youths aged fewer than 18 to complete the questionnaire
they must be accompanied by parents Due to this technical problem only youths aged
more than 18 were set as the target group
According to a survey published in Breakthrough Youth 2004 about 65 of youths
consumed most of their money in food Moreover they are eager to try new things
Therefore they were always attracted by the new products introduced by McDonalds
periodically
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
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Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
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Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
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Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
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Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
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Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
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Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
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Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
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Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
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The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
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Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
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69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
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70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
18
On the other hand youths can be easily affected by peers when purchasing From
the same report 61 of youths were easily influenced by friends when making purchase
decision In that case the party size in McDonalds is usually more than two people
Also youths usually use the Internet as a tool to have social activities for example
MSN online group games blog and e-mail According to a survey published in
Breakthrough Youth 2007 565 of youths spent 249 hours on Internet everyday in the
past three months Therefore researcher used online questionnaires to access youths in
order to get their opinions about how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds affects its
customer satisfaction and how it can enhance customer satisfaction through improving its
service quality
23 Definitions
231 Service
Service plays an important role in the model business environment Lau Akbar and
Yong (2006) suggest that the service sector has been recognized as a key factor in
differentiating service industry Regan (1963) introduces the idea of services being
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
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Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
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Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
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Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
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Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
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httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
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Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
19
activities benefits or satisfactions that are offered for sale or are provided in connection
with the sale of goods Also service can be defined as deeds efforts or performance
(Leonard 1980) According to Collier (1987) service is any primary or complementary
activity that does not produce a physical product directly In other words it is a transaction
between buyer (customer) and seller (service provider) Groumlnroos (1983) suggests that
the technical content of service is the outcome received by the served customer
Moreover service is a process to meet customersrsquo needs and wants in order to
achieve customersrsquo satisfaction Nobody can touch see smell or heart this process A
service is a time-perishable intangible experience performed for customer acting in the
role of co-producer (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Understand the meaning of service is very important as McDonaldrsquos provide service
to its customers During the service process McDonaldrsquos is the service provider and
customers buy physical products from McDonaldrsquos at the same time McDonaldrsquos satisfied
customersrsquo needs and wants Edvardsson (1996) highlightes that the concept of service
should be approached from the customers point of view since it is hisher perception of
the outcome that constituted the service Customers may have different values and
different grounds for assessment and most of the time they may perceive the same
service in different ways
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
20
232 Quality
Quality turns out to be extremely difficult to define in a few words The definition of
quality may vary from person to person and situation to situation Juran (1982) suggests
that quality was fitness for use He states that quality was primarily market-driven and
customer-oriented as it focus on customer utility and satisfaction However this concept
only focuses on in the eye of customer It considers the definition subjectively Therefore
in general quality is an integrated concept between production-orientation and market-
orientation between technology and customer satisfaction (Brown Gummesson
Edvardsson and Guestavasson 1991)
Furthermore quality is a distinctive tangible and intangible product and service
that are perceived by the customer rather the competition (Collier 1987) The concept of
quality as lsquoexcellencersquo has now been largely superseded by definitions emphasizing
production or delivery contexts (Olsen Teare and Gummesson 1996) Moreover quality
is always measured against expectation thus it is possible to have an excellent hamburger
stall as well as an excellent five-star restaurant The research aimed to study the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction therefore it is essential to
define what ldquoqualityrdquo is in the catering industry
233 Service Quality
Service quality is an important element of customer perceptions Parasuraman
Zeithaml and Berry (1985) defines service quality as the differences between customers
service expectations and their perceptions of service performance
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
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Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
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Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
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Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
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Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
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Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
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Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
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Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
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Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
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Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
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Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
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amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
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Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
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httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
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Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
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Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
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Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
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Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
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Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
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Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
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Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
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Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
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Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
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Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
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Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
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Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
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Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
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Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
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Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
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McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
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McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
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McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
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Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
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Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
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Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
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Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
21
Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquocustomer satisfaction is a short-term
transaction-specific measure whereas service quality is an attitude formed by a long-term
overall evaluation of a performancerdquo Moreover Groumlnroos (2001) service quality can be
defined as the overall evaluation of a specific service computed by comparing a firmrsquos
performance with the customerrsquos general expectations of how firms in that industry should
perform Service quality compares performances that McDonaldrsquos delivers its service quality
from customersrsquo points of view
Therefore in this study a questionnaire was developed to measure the service quality
based on SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985 1988) Service quality would be measured
as the performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondentsrsquo points of view
If it is pure services service quality will be the dominant element in customersrsquo
evaluations If services are offered in combination with a physical product service quality
may also be very critical in determining customer satisfaction (Chadee amp Mattsson 1995)
McDonalds belongs to the second one as McDonalds provides physical product and
intangible service to its customers Service quality can affect customer satisfaction and
higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Bolton 1998) Therefore the
service quality of McDonaldrsquos directly affects its customer satisfaction
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
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62
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Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
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Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
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Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
22
234 Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is crucial in the catering industry as the nature of the business
deals with people and providing service to paying guests Also customer satisfaction is
one of the most important and most frequently examined concepts of modern marketing
thought and practice (Fitzsimmons 2008) It reflects the perceived quality of products that
are actually delivered to customers and is essential for the survival of any type of business
(Sanjay 2007) Customer satisfaction has been regarded as the ultimate business goal
and it is the consumerrsquos fulfillment response (Antonio 2008)
In fact customer satisfaction survey results can significantly help managers and
employees to focus more attention on improving service quality (Olsen et al 1996) As
suggested by numerous researches satisfaction is a function of consumer perceptions
Satisfaction can be defined as a post-purchase evaluation judgment leading to an overall
feeling about a particular transaction Also it is pointed out that when a customer
recognizes quality then he or she is satisfied with the service or the product (Fornell
1992)
Furthermore customer satisfaction is a complex human process that involves
cognitive and affective processed as well as psychological and physiological influences
(Oh and Parks 1997) Therefore customer satisfaction is difficult to be under human
control (Groumlnroos 1983)
According to Oliver (1997) Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995) Yuksel and Yuksel (2001)
satisfaction is defined as a judgment of a product or service feature or the product or
service itself which provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment
including levels of under or over fulfillment In other words this definition means that
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
23
satisfaction is the customersrsquo evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether a
product or service has met their needs or expectations or not (Antonio 2008) If it faile to
meet needs and expectations it is assumed to result in dissatisfaction with the product or
service In this case customer satisfaction is simple for McDonaldrsquos If McDonaldrsquos can
provide what customers want and customersrsquo requirements are met then customers are
satisfied
Gitomer (1998) in addition suggests that customer satisfaction actually refers to
different areas of the relationship with the customers including satisfaction with the quality
if product or service satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship satisfaction with
the price or performance ratio of a product or service It is a result of a customersrsquo
perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship (Blanchard and Galloway
1994 Heskett et al 1990) It only occurs when customers receive more value than what
they have spent in terms of money time and effort
In recent years Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) develop a satisfaction model Figure 21
shows the model listing several elements of a customerrsquos satisfaction for a complex
service some elements such as tangible and appearance willing to purchase
responsiveness and credibility were applied in this study (Sarv et al 1999) Through
applying these elements in this study the satisfaction level of McDonaldrsquos among the
youths can be measured
Figure 21
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
24
2
4 Characteristics of Service
Bitner Fisk and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services
marketing literature up to 1980 is the delineation of four services characteristics
intangibility inseparability heterogeneity and perishability
The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing
between products and services (Levitt 1981) Services are intangible and insubstantial
they cannot be touched gripped handled saw smelled tasted or heard Thus there is
neither potential nor need for transport storage or stocking of services (Fitzsimmons
2008) Products are physical things that you can touch or smell or taste and service are
ideas and concepts For example when you purchased a hamburger form McDonalds
hamburger is a product that can be touched and the process of selling the hamburger is
the service provided
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
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62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
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Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
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Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
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Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
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Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
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Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
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amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
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Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
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Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
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Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
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Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
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Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
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Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
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McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
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Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
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Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
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Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
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Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
25
Services are inseparable Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery
and consumption of services and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the
performance and quality of the service (Groumlnroos 1978 Zeithaml 1981)
Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Zeithaml
et al 1985) This is a particular problem for services with high labor content as different
people deliver the service performance and the performance of people can vary from day
to day (Wolak Kalafatis and Harris 1998) Onkvisit and Shaw (1991) considered
heterogeneity as to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and
customization of the service
The last characteristic of services is perishability commodity In general services
cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Zeithaml et al 1985) That
means services are time dependent and time important and it is lost forever when not
used The relevant resources processes and systems of service are assigned for service
delivery during a definite period in time If the designated or scheduled service consumer
does not request and consume the service during this period the service cannot be
performed for him (Wikipedia 2009)
The characteristics of services can help researcher to identify the nature of the
service For example it helps researcher to set up the questionnaire regarding the service
provided by McDonaldrsquos Moreover it is important to distinguish the service elements from
the product elements in McDonaldrsquos as it provides a mixture of both each affecting the
level of customer satisfaction in different ways
25 Measuring Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
251 Gap Model
Parasuraman et al (1985) has successively added service quality into the gap
model (refer to Figure 22) He suggests that the actual quality of a service can be
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
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httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
26
measured as the gap between the qualities perceived by guests and that which they
expect Also gap model can be used to measure the difference between expectations and
perceptions which was defined as perceived quality so that determine the level of
satisfaction (Lau Akbar and Yong 2006)
The differences between expectations and perceptions can be defined as gap scores
of customer satisfaction the larger the gap the farther consumer perceptions are from
expectation and the lower level of customer satisfaction in contrast the smaller the gap
the higher the level of customer satisfaction (Hoffman and Bateson 1997)
In fact this concept was quite similar to the conceptual model of service quality that
was Expectation-Disconfirmation theory However gap theory identifies five discrepancies
or gaps which may develop in the service supply process and interfere with the service
experience (Olsen et al 1996)
ZeithamI and Bitner (2003) state that in order to manage service quality it is
important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of
management employers and customers Here are the five key discrepancies that can
influence customer evaluations of service quality that suggests by Parasuraman et al
(1985)
Gap 1 is the gap between customer expectations and managements perceptions of those
expectations Gap 1 arises from managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how
customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources such as
personal needs past experience with the firm and its competitors etc Fitzsimmons (2008)
Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants and
specifications of service quality It may result from a lack of management commitment to
service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customersrsquo expectation
(Fitzsimmons 2008)
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
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Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
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McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
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of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
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pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
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Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
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Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
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Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
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Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
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Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
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Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
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69
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httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
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Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
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70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
27
Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service It can
arise from a number of reasons including lack of teamwork poor employee selection
inadequate training and inappropriate job design (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the company promises to the
customer through external communication It arises from lacking of information provided
to contact personnel (Fitzsimmons 2008)
Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectations and their perceptions of
service performance Olsen et al (1996) and Lau et al (2006) suggest that gap 5 was the
most important in terms of the assessment of ldquoactualrdquo service quality
In this study researcher has applied the concept of gap model to design a
questionnaire measuring service quality and customer satisfaction Researcher would
base on the reasons to provide recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Figure 22
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
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Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
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Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
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Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
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Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
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httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
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Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
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Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
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November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
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httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
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Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
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Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
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http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
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pp 72-91
67
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Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
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Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
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Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
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pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
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68
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Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
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Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
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69
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Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
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70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
28
252 SERVQUAL
SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al (1985 1988) and it was used to
identify and measure the gaps between customersrsquo expectations and perceptions of
service quality The approach was developed to be applied in the service industry
Moreover Hoffmam and Bateson (1997 pp307) point out that ldquoSERVQUAL is a
diagnostic tool that uncovers a firmrsquos broad weaknesses and strengths in the area of
service quality
Parasuraman et al (1985) defines service quality in ten dimensions at the beginning
namely tangibles reliability responsiveness competence access courtesy
communication credibility security and understanding However in the later research
Parasuraman et al (1988) revises and defines the service quality in five independent
dimensions tangibles reliability responsiveness assurance and empathy (refer to Figure
23 for definitions)
Figure 23
The impact of SERVQUAL in the area of service measurement is widely accepted
(Antonio 2008 Babakus amp Boller 1992 Carman 1990) It is a multiple-item scale
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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62
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Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
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Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
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Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
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Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
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Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
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httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
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Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
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Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
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httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
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Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
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McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
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Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
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at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
29
developed to measure service quality by computing the differences between consumers
desired expectations and their perceptions of a firms performance (Lau et al 2006) A
number of practitioners and researchers (Lau et al 2006 cited in Juwaheer and Ross
2003 Wong Dean and White 1999) have applied modified versions of SERVQUAL to
measure service quality in the service industry However there are some criticisms in the
literature of SERVQUAL
It failed to consider the impact of financial factors (Andersson 1992)
Respondents can be easily confused by the two administration methods of the
questionnaire (Groumlnroos 1993 Bolton and Drew 1991)
SERVQUAL focused on the process of service delivery not the outcomes of the
service encounter (Groumlnroos 1982)
An alternative to SERVQUAL with the same level of general appeal and market
dominances is yet to be produced Hence the SERVQUAL scale is applied in this study
as the metric of service quality and customer satisfaction
253 Disconfirmation-Expectation Model
The expectation-disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) suggests that consumers
develop expectation about a product before purchasing After using the product they
compare actual performance with those expectations If the actual performance is better
than their expectations they are likely to have a positive disconfirmation suggesting that
consumers are highly satisfied and will be more willing to purchase the same product
again However if the actual performance is worse than expectations they are likely to
have a negative disconfirmation suggesting that consumers are dissatisfied
In the event of a negative disconfirmation consumers are likely to look for alternative
products for their next purchase Organizations walk a fine line when setting correct level
of expectations If expectations are set low customers will be satisfied but the company
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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62
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Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
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Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
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Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
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Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
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httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
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Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
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Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
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at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
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70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
30
will have difficulty attracting new customers and it loses the aim of satisfying customers If
expectations are set too high the company may fail at meeting their promises and the
customer will be dissatisfied There is an equation to calculate the customer satisfaction
scores (S) S = P ndash E (Lau et al 2006) P stands for customerrsquos perception of the service
providerrsquos performance E stands for customerrsquos expectations Therefore the service
quality can be measured by subtracting the customerrsquos perception score from the
customerrsquos expectations score
The full expectation-disconfirmation model consists of four components expectation
performance disconfirmation and satisfaction
Expectation defines what the consumer anticipates to receive from the service The
satisfaction literature suggested that consumers may use different kinds of expectations
when forming opinions about a productrsquos anticipated performance There are four kinds of
expectations ideal expected minimum tolerable and desirable (Miller 1977)
Performance is the level to which the service is executed
Disconfirmation occurs when there is a discrepancy between expectations and
performance Disconfirmation arises from discrepancies between prior expectations
and actual performance The size of the disconfirmation thus leads to satisfaction or
dissatisfaction Oliver (1980) has stressed the importance of measuring
disconfirmation apart from expectation as he claimed that the construct has
independent and additive effect on satisfaction
Satisfaction is an out of purchase and usage resulting from the buyerrsquos comparison
of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences
Chapter 3 ndash Methodology
31 Introduction
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) believed research was about discovering and
understanding the human environment Furthermore Sekaran (2003 pp5) suggests
ldquoresearch can be defined as an organized systematic database critical objective
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
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Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
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Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
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httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
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Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
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Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
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Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
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November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
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pp 72-91
67
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paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
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Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
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Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
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Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
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68
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69
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Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
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70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
31
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to itrdquo Based on the literature review the objectives of this
exploratory study are to
Measure gaps between perceptions and expectations of youths on different attributes
of service quality to McDonaldrsquos
Investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction of
youths
Examine the levels of customer satisfaction of youths on McDonaldrsquos
The aims of this part are to explain and rationalize the research methods being
selected for this dissertation Bacel (1999) states that a methodology should be included
for the reasons of choosing the research method instrument
Also methodology adds value to the validity of a research The methodology enables
the reader to criticize the data collection procedures and evaluates the quality of the
research from the sufficient details (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
There are two research methods one is primary research and another one is
secondary research Both of them can be used to complement for each other (Steward
and Kamins 1993) In this dissertation researcher used both primary research and
secondary research methods as both of them could help researcher to gather useful
information to do the dissertation
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
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Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
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68
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Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
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69
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Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
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Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
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70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
32
32 Primary Research
Primary research generally refers to research which involves the collection of
original data using an accepted research methodology (Clark Riley Wilkie and Wood
1998) Questionnaire was used as a primary research tool in this study Questionnaires
are an efficient data collection mechanism as research knows exactly what is required
and how to measure the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction Therefore
researcher used questionnaire to gather different opinions from the youths In fact
questionnaire would be distributed in two ways one was self-administered and another
one was electronically distributed
On the other hand primary research can be categorized into two groups namely
qualitative research and quantitative research Quantitative research was used in this
study It was the responsibility of the researcher to interpret and analyze the data It gave
researcher a deep insight to the subject first hand However it was more time consuming
than secondary research
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
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Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
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Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
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Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
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Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
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Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
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Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
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Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
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Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
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Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
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amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
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Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
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Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
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Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
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Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
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Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
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Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
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Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
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Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
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Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
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Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
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Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
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Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
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Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
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Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
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Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
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McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
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Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
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Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
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Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
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Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
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Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
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Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
33
321 Quantitative Research
Quantitative researches are those that involve analysis of quantitative or measurements
within data (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) Furthermore Clark et al (1998) suggests that
quantitative research placed reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather
data and analyze or measure it such as questionnaire
Also Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that it is important for service industry managers
to understand the significance of quantitative data because this enabled them to plan and
implement research programmers and to understand the work of consultants in this field
The data collection and analysis of quantitative researches have enormous benefited to
service organization They provide information about consumer behavior market trends
quality control and customer satisfaction and so on (Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) That
was also the reason why researcher chose quantitative research in this study
Nevertheless quantitative research is the ultimate execution because results were
largely quantitative and usually it is statistical especially in the case of questionnaire
322 Pilot Test
Pilot test is conducted before actually distributing the questionnaires The purpose of
pilot test is to find out the potential problems of the questionnaire that cannot be found by
the researcher and draw qualitative feedbacks regarding the questionnaire application
(Johns and Lee-Ross 1998) The pilot test of this questionnaire was conducted on 10th
February 2009 at Chai Wan IVE 5 samples of the pilot questionnaires were distributed to
5 respondents from the hospitality tourism and sports fields
The main problem discovered after the pilot test was that some terms such as
perceive quality could not be easily understood by the respondents After conducting the
tests mistakes and problems were corrected before the officially distributing the
questionnaire
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
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Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
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Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
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Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
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Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
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Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
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69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
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12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
34
33 Secondary Research
Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) state that secondary research gather material collected
by others from other sources Secondary data can be usually found in books newspaper
journals and so on Secondary research is to establish what work has been undertaken in
a particular area before a necessary precursor to research design (Clark et al 1998) In
fact any research activity usually includes secondary research It is important to refer to
different sources and compare the data It cost lots of time to read these materials
However compared to the primary research it offered relatively quick and inexpensive
answer too many questions (Stewart and Kamins 1993)
In this study secondary research was used firstly in order to gather relevant
knowledge and background information of the study such as the information about
McDonaldrsquos theories of service quality and customer satisfaction and the current situation
of fast food industry etc
34 Descriptive Research
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
35
A descriptive research was undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe
the characteristics of the variable of interest in a situation (Sekaran 2003) The nature of
descriptive research is to find out the characteristics of a group of people such as age
gender education level and so on which were asked in questionnaire Descriptive
research involved the collection or original data for analysis but the main purpose was to
establish a factual picture of the object of study
The data of descriptive was meaningful as it helped organizations to understand the
characteristics of a group in a given situation and think systematically about different
aspects and offer ideas for further probe and research (Sekaran 2003)
35 Data Collection
Data are obtained from primary or secondary sources Both of them helped
researcher to get more supporting for the study
351 Primary Data
Primary data refers to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study (Sekaran 2003) Primary data is
generally collected specifically in pursuit of particular research objective and it is new and
original data
The aim of this study was to find out how service quality of Hong Kong McDonalds
affects its customer satisfaction and how to enhance customer satisfaction In order to
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
36
gather the most update opinions of youths it was necessary to carry out a primary
research using a questionnaire
352 Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing
such as journals books the Internet and so on (Sekaran 2003) Secondary data
collection was the foundation of the study After deciding the topic of the study
researcher started to gather different information--secondary data from various
channels including websites textbooks journals newspapers government
publications and company annual reports
36 Instrument
361 Questionnaire Design
The concept of questionnaire was developed by three main theories Gap Model
(Parasuraman et al 1985) SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1988) and Expectation-
Disconfirmation Model (Oliver 1980) After reviewing the literature a new questionnaire
was developed in this modified version (refer to Appendix A) to measure the exiting
service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the level of customer satisfaction of youths on
McDonaldrsquos The modification was made to suit the fast food industry condition
Originally the questionnaire was designed in English a Chinese translation was
subsequently added concerning the understandability of persons interviewed The
purpose of this measure was to avoid any wrong response due to language problem as
Chinese is the mother language of the majority in Hong Kong
Researcher used closed-ended and self-administered questionnaire for this study
based on the relevant literature and survey developed by the past studies Also the
questionnaire had been uploaded onto the Internet as computer survey cannot be limited
by time and place and is time efficient thus allowing better time utilization for the
researcher Besides the Internet is the always the easiest way to approach youths as
mentioned in the above literature review
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
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Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
37
At the beginning of the questionnaire researcher pointed out a statement that the
age of all the respondents should be from 18 to 24 By doing so it avoided respondents
aging 18 or below to do the questionnaire Also this statement helped ensure that all the
questionnaires were finished by youths
A 5-point Likert (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) scale was used in this
questionnaire which comprised of four sections This first section was to collect the
general impression of respondents to McDonaldrsquos The second section was to measure
the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and measure the differences between
expectation from customers and performance of McDonaldrsquos from respondents who
actually dined in McDonaldrsquos while the third section was to examine the respondentsrsquo
overall level of satisfaction with their dining experience in McDonaldrsquos The last section
was to collect the personal information such as age gender and sex of respondents
362 Population and Samples
Clark et al (1998 pp149) states that the term ldquopopulationrdquo refers to ldquothe total number
of people objects or events that are relevant to the research aspect being studiedrdquo In
this study researcher was interested in knowing Hong Kong youthsrsquo opinions to service
quality and customer satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos Therefore the study should cover all
youths in Hong Kong
However as the limitation of human resources and time this study only covered part
of youths in Hong Kong Researcher used random sampling method According to Clark
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
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Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
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Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
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Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
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Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
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Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
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Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
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Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
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Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
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The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
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Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
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Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
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70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
38
et al (1998 pp149) a sample survey is a survey that covers only part of a population and
the term sample usually refers to that part of the population studied for some research
process
It cost about 10 minutes for a respondent to finish one questionnaire The research
was carried out during 23rd February 2009 to 27th February 2009 in different universities
and via Internet The sample size of this study was eventually 152 (n=152) 68 of them are
self-administered and 84 of them are via the Internet (see Table 31) In fact 80
questionnaires were distributed as self-administered 68 questionnaires were received
and the return rate was 85
Table 31 Distributions of Respondents by Different Methods
Different Methods Frequency Presentation ()
Self-administered 68 4474
Via the Internet 84 5526
Total 152 100
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
39
363 Data Analysis
Data collected from the questionnaire are raw data Therefore it is necessary to
analyze it and made it become meaningful Descriptive statistics of frequencies and
percentages were calculated in order to depict the respondentsrsquo profile On the other hand
the mean and standard deviation of the existing service quality of McDonaldrsquos and
satisfaction levels of respondents towards the McDonaldrsquos were also calculated by using
SPSS version 17
Moreover gap analysis and paired t-test was used in comparing means between
expectations score and performance score of the respondents Gap analysis was carried
out to find out the room for improvement of satisfaction The paired t-test was carried out
to compare the means of expectations and performance It computed the differences
between the values of these two means and tested whether the mean differences were
significant ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests were used to indicate the relationship
between respondentsrsquo profile and respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction
37 Reliability and Validity of the Research
Reliability is defined as attests to the consistency and stability of the measuring
instrument (Sekaran 2003) In other words the reliability of a measure indicated the
extent to which it was without bias and hence ensure consistent measurement across time
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
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Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
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12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
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70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
40
and across the various items in the instrument Therefore it was necessary to carry out
reliable measurement in the dissertation If not it might reduce the conviction of
researchrsquos findings
It was important to note that reliability was necessary but not sufficient condition of
the test of goodness of a measure As a result validity must be added into a
measurement Validity is defined as evidence that the instrument technique or process
used to measure a concept does indeed measure the intended concept (Sekaran 2003)
38 Limitation
This study was conducted under several constraints that needed to be addressed
The first major limitation was the small sample size Due to time and resources constraints
only 152 questionnaires were collected As a result the findings could not represent the
opinions of the whole population of youths Nevertheless the result of this study gave
useful foundation and direction for further research
The second limitation was the design of the questionnaire There were only 28
attributes for respondents to choose There could be other relevant attributes that may be
perceived as important by customers as the respondents had different education
background different job environments and different dining experience These might
have contributed towards differences in the perceptions of service quality and satisfaction
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
41
The third limitation was the research methods In this study only questionnaire was
used to collect primary data other methods such as focus group and personal interviews
were ignored Therefore this limitation in collecting primary data might disallow in-depth
analysis concerning the issues studied
Chapter 4 ndash Results
41 Demographic Data of Respondents
Table 41 shows the characteristics of respondents The sample of respondents
contained more females (638) than males (362) About 513 of respondents were
aged from 21 to 22 and 415 of them were aged from 23 to 24 This is fulfilled the
requirement of respondentsrsquo age limitation The majority (75) of the respondents had
university education
The majority (717) of respondents were students others were clerical worker
(145) and professionals (72) while the rest of the respondents did other jobs
McDonaldrsquos is the main place for studentsrsquo social activities (Watson 2007) Because of
the crowded living environment in Hong Kong students cannot welcome a group of
classmates to their home Therefore students normally go out for chatting or playing
McDonaldrsquos offers a great place for social activities among the youths
100 of the respondents have been to McDonaldrsquos before The frequency of
respondents visiting McDonaldrsquos was not very high About 75 of respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos 0 to 1 time per week about 237 of them went to McDonaldrsquos 2 to 3 times
per week This believed to be related to the fact that the variety of restaurants available to
students to choose from is very large which has been mentioned in the literature review
There are more than 11793 fast food shops in 2007 in Hong Kong (Food and Environment
Hygiene Department 2007)
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
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Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
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Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
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Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
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Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
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Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
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httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
42
In fact McDonalds has quite a number of direct competitors such as KFC Cafeacute De
Coral and Fairwood in Hong Kong all of them provide fast food with high quality at
affordable prices The food such as hamburgers and French fries which McDonalds
serve are not difficult to cook it does not require very technical skills and high technology
It is easy for competitors to copy Besides the market structure of the fast food industry in
Hong Kong is Oligopoly as besides a few leading companies there are many small
restaurants which provide fast western style food However brand loyalty is certainly
another very important asset of McDonalds when people think of hamburgers they think
of McDonalds
In other words the business environment in which McDonaldrsquos is currently operating
is very competitive Nevertheless in terms of market share McDonaldrsquos is the market
leader in Hong Kong in the fast food industry
Table 41 The characteristics of respondents
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
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Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
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Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
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at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
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70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
43
Table
42 shows
that 121
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
it was
convenien
t which
revealed
the nature
of
McDonaldrsquo
smdash
providing
fast food
services
65
responden
ts went to
McDonaldrsquo
s because
of
Frequencies Percentage ()
Age
18-20
21-22
23-24
Total
11
78
63
152
72
513
415
100
Gender
Male
Female
Total
55
97
152
362
638
100
Education
High school
Diploma or High diploma
Associate degree
University above
Total
20
9
9
114
152
132
59
59
75
100
Occupation
Student
Professional
Clerical work
Retailing
Education
Others
Total
109
11
22
4
3
3
152
717
72
145
26
2
2
100
Visited times to McDonaldrsquos (Per week)
0-1 Times 2-3 Times
4-5 Times
Total
114
36
2
152
75
237
13
100
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
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Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
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Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
44
reasonable price and 56 respondents went to McDonaldrsquos because of its good taste
McDonaldrsquos had adopted a lot of measures and control procedures to maintain its good
taste McDonaldrsquos has its own system to monitor the procedure of food processing which
is a key factor in keeping the consistency of food quality Another contributing factor lies
on its reliable raw materials suppliers
Some respondents mentioned some others reasons why they went to McDonaldrsquos
which were not included in the choices of the questionnaire they include peer impacts
and the need to find a place to stay To the researcherrsquos surprise nobody went to
McDonaldrsquos because of its high service quality meaning that the customersrsquo expectations
concerning the service quality of McDonaldrsquos are not high
Table 43 shows that 107 respondents were satisfied with the 24 hours operations
provided by McDonaldrsquos 72 respondents were satisfied with the speed of delivering food
It was quite surprising to note that 60 respondents were satisfied with the toilet facilities
provided by McDonaldrsquos As there less respondents satisfied with other service
McDonaldrsquos should consider add values to those service and make them becoming
tangible If customers feel those services are value for money it can increase customer
satisfaction Then McDonaldrsquos can charge for these services to increase its profits
Table 42 The Reasons of Respondents Went to McDonaldrsquos
Reasons Frequencies
Convenience 121
Reasonable price 65
Taste 56
Availability of toys 27
A wide range of food 22
Others 11
High service quality 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
45
Table 43 Attitudes of Respondents to Existing Services of McDonaldrsquos
Attributes Frequencies
24 hours operation 107
Provide food quickly 72
Provide toilet 60
Introduce new product periodically 20
Cleaning table 18
Availability of toys 16
Provide tailor made food 7
Others 0
Note As this question allowed multiple choices the total sample may exceed 152
42 The Performance of Service Quality
In this section the mean scores of regarding McDonaldrsquos performance in service
quality will be analyzed in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo
ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo From these five dimensions the service
quality of McDonaldrsquos can be measured as mentioned in the literature review-- the service
quality was measured as the performance of McDonaldrsquos that measured in the literature
review--Hoffman and Bateson (1997 pp298) states that ldquo service quality is an attitude
formed by a long-term overall evaluation of a performancerdquo
Table 44 shows that respondents gave the highest mean scores (413) to
ldquoConveniencerdquo which indicated that ldquoConveniencerdquo was the most satisfying existing
service of McDonaldrsquos and it was also the main reason why respondents went to
McDonaldrsquos (refer to Table 41) In fact two attributes belonged to ldquoConveniencerdquo in the
questionnaire one was ldquoAccessibilityrdquo scoring 416 another one was ldquoTransportationrdquo
scoring 409 It is true that locating a McDonaldrsquos in Hong Kong is very easy as there are
more than 200 McDonalds shops located in different places in Hong Kong (McDonalds
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
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70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
46
Corporation of Hong Kong 2008) Customers can easily access McDonaldrsquos wherever
they are This can be considered as strength of McDonaldrsquos
ldquoServicerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldrsquos ability tohelliprdquo got the second highest score (341) in term of
service quality while ldquoAtmosphererdquo was in the third place scoring 336 However the
score of ldquoFoodrdquo was 334 which was the lowest service quality score among the five
dimensions This indicated that respondents were mostly dissatisfied with the service
quality of ldquoFoodrdquo Therefore ldquoFoodrdquo contributed the most in affecting the level of customer
satisfaction In other words ldquoFoodrdquo was the most affecting dimension Respondents gave
the scores of performance from the highest 416 (Accessibility) to the lowest 268
(Nutrition of food) This indicated that respondents were mostly satisfied with
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo however respondents were mostly dissatisfied with ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo
Including ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo two attributes scored below 3 in the research The other
one was ldquoLevel of noise in McDonaldrsquosrdquo scoring 299 In fact 268 was a reasonable
score for ldquoNutrition of foodrdquo as people have some negative feelings to fast food generally
Fast food is named ldquojunk foodrdquo and was often associated with unhealthy image because of
the unwholesome ingredients contained such as fat high salt and chemical additives etc
which has been mentioned in the literature review
Table 44 The Mean and Standard Deviation of Performance
Attributes Mean of
Performance (P)
Std Deviation of
Performance (P)
Food (Average mean) 334
Presentation of food 34559 102846
Menu variety 34559 102846
Nutrition of food 26765 128645
Taste of food 34412 111144
Quality of food 34559 105708
Freshness of food 34118 108222
Temperature of food 34706 102899
Service (Average mean) 341
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
47
Friendly polite and helpful staff 33971 105292
Attentive staff 32353 105261
Staff greeting customers 33824 100787
Efficient service 35000 93840
Staff are willing to serve 35588 99824
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 34706 102899
Sympathetic handling complaint 33235 99912
Atmosphere (Average mean) 336
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 35882 99604
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 29853 127540
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 33382 107357
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 35882 90166
Dining privacy 31176 111341
McDonaldrsquos temperature 34412 99824
McDonaldrsquos appearance 35735 85197
Staff appearance 32353 112127
Convenience (Average mean) 413
Transportation 40882 74784
Accessibility 41618 82154
McDonaldrsquos ability tohellip(Average mean) 341
Offer a new dining experience 31765 99162
Offer food a consistent standard 33971 96413
Provide a comfortable dinning environment 33971 88334
Offer service of a consistent standard 36618 90785
43 Level of Customer Satisfaction of Respondents
SPSS version 17 was used to calculate the mean scores of expectation and
performance of 28 items which were then interpreted using SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et
al 1985) The differences between performance and expectation represent customer
satisfaction that as states by the Expectation-Disconfirmation model (Oliver 1980) Also
the Gap model was used to determine the level of satisfaction (Lau et al 2006)
Customer satisfaction scores (S) S = P ndash E as mentioned in literature review
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
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Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
48
Referring to Table 45 the number of negative scores outweighed the number of
positive scores There were only 6 positive scores and 22 negative scores with positive
score meaning that respondents were satisfied with those attributes and negative score
means respondents were dissatisfied with the attributes Therefore the overall satisfaction
level of respondents to McDonaldrsquos was low
From the data respondents were satisfied with the following attributes ldquoMenu
varietyrdquo (008) ldquoDecoration of McDonaldrsquosrdquo (006) ldquoMcDonaldrsquos appearancerdquo (003)
ldquoTransportationrdquo (018) ldquoAccessibilityrdquo (009) and ldquoOffer service of a consistent standardrdquo
(003) as these attributes have positive scores A positive score means that the
performance scores higher that the expectation This revealed that McDonaldrsquos did better
than what the customers expected in these six aspects meaning that customers were
satisfied in these aspects
McDonaldrsquos offers different products for customers to choose from it provides not
only the set menu but also designs different menus to meet customersrsquo expectations in
different locations For example McDonalds does not sell any pork in India because of
the religion problems McDonalds sold rice in Hong Kong in the past as Chinese like to
eat rice Moreover from time to time it would introduce some new products to the market
with heavy promotion Therefore it is understandable that why respondents were satisfied
with ldquoMenu varietyrdquo
ldquoTransportationrdquo was the mostly satisfied attributes as it has the highest customer
satisfaction scores (018) Also ldquoTransportationrdquo was one of the attributes that have high
scores in service quality As a result there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in terms of ldquoTransportationrdquo
The decoration and appearance of McDonaldrsquos are of the same style all over the
world and is carefully designed to appeal customers It makes customer feel comfortable
Offering consistent service to customers is one of the main selling points of McDonaldrsquos
McDonaldrsquos even has its own university to train staff to maintain the service quality
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
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Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
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Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
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Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
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Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
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Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
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Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
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Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
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Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
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Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
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amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
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Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
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Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
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Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
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Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
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McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
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McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
49
Table 45 Difference Mean Scores (Performance Minus Expectation)
Statements
Mean of
Expectation
(E)
Mean of
Performance
(P)
Customer
satisfaction
scores (S) S
= P ndash E
Presentation of food 357 346 -011
Menu variety 338 346 008
Nutritious of food 269 258 -011
Taste of food 35 344 -006
Quality of food 354 346 -008
Freshness of food 349 341 -008
Temperature of food 371 347 -024
Friendly polite and helpful staff 368 34 -028
Attentive staff 34 324 -016
Staff greeting customers 346 338 -008
Efficient service 374 35 -024
Staff willing to serve 365 356 -009
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge 357 347 -01
Sympathetic handling complaint 341 332 -009
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos 365 359 -006
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos 315 299 -016
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos 347 333 -014
Decoration of McDonaldrsquos 354 36 006
Dining privacy 328 312 -016
McDonaldrsquos temperature 359 344 -015
McDonaldrsquos appearance 354 357 003
Staff appearance 325 323 -002
Transportation 391 409 018
Accessibility 407 416 009
Offered a new dining experience 329 318 -011
Offered food a consistent standard 354 34 -014
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
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70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
50
Felt comfortable to eat in 344 34 -004
Offered service of a consistent standard 363 366 003
44 Attributes for Improvement
Aspects with positive response from respondents were mentioned above How about
the negative aspects Is there anything which needs to be improved in McDonaldrsquos form
respondentsrsquo view Based on the data of Table 45 (Mean of Expectation and Mean of
Performance) Figure 41 can be plotted to show the priorities for improvement for
McDonaldrsquos It is regarded as gap differences analysis as mentioned in the literature
review
Figure 41 clearly shows that ldquoMcDonaldrsquos Nutrition of foodrdquo and ldquoLevel of noise in
McDonaldrsquosrdquo have lower mean scores than others They happened in gap 1 as
managementrsquos lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their
expectations These two attributes were falling short in both expectation and performance
in customersrsquo mind revealing that there is room for improvement in these two areas
Customers did not expect much in these areas because they have accepted or have
a deep impression that McDonaldrsquos sells junk food and it is a place full of children and
therefore noise Moreover the youths see McDonaldrsquos as a place for chatting and social
gatherings instead of a place for quite formal dining Note that McDonaldrsquos has been
promoting its healthy image in recent years however from the research it shows that the
healthy image could not be communicated to the youths successfully
On the other hand some attributes of performance of McDonaldrsquos did not meet
customersrsquo expectation such as ldquoOffer food in a consistent standardrdquo ldquoOffer new dining
experiencerdquo ldquoMcDonaldrsquos temperaturerdquo ldquoDing privacyrdquo ldquoLevel of cleanliness of
McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoAttentive staffrdquo ldquoLevel of noise of McDonaldrsquosrdquo ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
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Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
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Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
51
ldquoFriendly polite and helpful staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo If McDonaldrsquos wants to improve
customer satisfaction it should focus more on these unsatisfactory aspects by reducing
the distance between expectation and performance
According to Hoffman and Bateson (1997) the larger the differences are the lower
the satisfaction level In that case ldquoTemperature of foodrdquo ldquoFriendly polite and helpful
staffrdquo and ldquoEfficient servicerdquo were the most important areas for McDonaldrsquos to improve as
the differences between performance and expectation of these attributes were larger than
the others Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
52
Figure 41 Priorities for Improvement of McDonalds
0 05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45
Presentation of food
Menu variety
Nutritious of food
Taste of food
Quality of food
Freshness of food
Temperature of food
Friendly polite and helpful staff
Attentive staff
Staff greeting customers
Efficient service
Staff willing to serve
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
Sympathetic handling complaint
Level of comfort in McDonalds
Level of noise in McDonalds
Level of cleanliness in McDonalds
Decoration of McDonalds
Dining privacy
McDonalds temperature
McDonalds appearance
Staff appearance
Transportation
Accessibility
Offered a new dining experience
Offered food a consistent standard
Felt comfortable to eat in
Offered service of a consistent standard
Mean of Performance
Mean of Expectation
45 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
53
Based on the data of Table 45 (Performance and Customer Satisfaction Scores)
two curves were plotted (Figure 42) The curves show that there is a positive relationship
between service quality and customer satisfaction
From the two curves it can be observed that for most of the attributes the level of
customer satisfaction is almost equal to the level of service quality In other words if
respondents felt that service quality of attributes was good then they had high level of
satisfaction with these attributes On the other hand if the respondents felt that the
service quality was bad then they had lower level of customer satisfaction The results
indicated that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction When service quality is high the level of customer satisfaction is also high
and vice versa As mentioned in the literature higher service quality leads to higher
customer satisfaction (Aaker and Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton
1998 Sanjay 2008)
The lowest point along the curves is ldquoNutritious of foodrdquo The score of service quality
was 258 the score of customer satisfaction was ndash011 and it was the lowest level of
customer satisfaction That was also one of the most important attributes which need
improvement in McDonaldrsquos
A peak can be identified in ldquoAccessibilityrdquo The score of service quality of
ldquoAccessibilityrdquo was 416 which was the highest score of service The score of customer
satisfaction was 018 and it was the highest score of customer satisfaction This indicates
that in terms of accessibility the customers of McDonaldrsquos had high level of satisfaction
Finger 42 Relationships between Service Quality and Level of Customer Satisfaction
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
54
0
05
1
15
2
25
3
35
4
45
Level of Customer satisfaction
Service Quality
46 Relationship between Respondentsrsquo Profile and their Level of Satisfaction
The results of One-Way ANOVA ndash tests and Chi-Square Tests indicate that
respondentsrsquo level of satisfaction was not influenced by their age education and
frequencies of visiting McDonaldrsquos However respondents in different sexes had different
level of satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 46) In general females tended to be more
satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than males Female respondents usually gave scores over 3 to
different statements Male respondents usually gave scores below 3 to different
statements
Table 46 Respondentsrsquo Gender and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 1 5422 023
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
55
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 1 5263 025
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
1 11251 001
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 1 8968 004
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
1 5950 017
On the other hand respondents in different occupations have different level of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos (Table 47) About 717 of respondents are student and most
of them gave scores over 4 to different statements On the other hand the clerical
workers which among to 145 of the target group generally gave scores below 3 This
variance indicates that on the whole working youths are pickier in a sense that they
demand more in service quality they are more difficult to please This may due to the fact
that those working youths strike to survive in society every day they have working
pressure and real life experience that they would demand more for what they pay for On
the other hand students are the innocent group who are relatively easier to please as
they do not have much experience in life
Table 47 Respondentsrsquo Occupation and their level of Satisfaction
Statements df F Sig
6 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality 5 4436 002
7 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos 5 2871 021
8 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied
with McDonaldrsquos
5 1426 227
9 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos 5 1586 177
10 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my
expectation
5 2501 040
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
56
47 Relationship between Education background of respondents amp Service
Dimensions
There is a significant relationship between different education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo as the ρ
＜ 05(Table 48) These attributes are all associated with the staff regarding their
attitudes knowledge and ability
As mentioned in the literature service quality can affect the level of customer
satisfaction higher service quality leads to higher customer satisfaction (Aaker and
Jacobson 1994 Anderson and Sullivan 1993 Bolton 1998 Sanjay 2008) As a result
respondents with different education backgrounds had different level of satisfaction to
McDonaldrsquos Respondents having university education are more agreeable towards less
satisfaction than their other education levels
As McDonaldrsquos usually hire part time staff with minimum educational requirements it
hires secondary school students and housewives as they donrsquot mind the low hourly rate
Although McDonaldrsquos provides training to them this still cannot improve or develop the
peoplersquos quality of its staff Therefore they donrsquot have much knowledge about how to
meet customersrsquo expectations There is no doubt that customers unsatisfied with their
performance
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
57
Since youths with university education are considered the elites of society they are
more knowledgeable and critical in terms of evaluating peoplersquos performance therefore
they gave low marks in these attributes
Table 48 Respondentsrsquo education backgrounds and Service Attributes
Service Attributes df F Sig
E10 Staff greeting customer 3 4362 007
E 13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 4464 007
E 14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4027 011
P10 Staff greeting customer 3 2925 040
P13 Staff who have food beverage knowledge 3 3991 011
P14 Sympathetic handling complains 3 4509 006
Note E= Expectation P= Performance
Chapter 5 ndash Conclusions and Recommendations
51 Conclusions
In summary this study was to examine the impact of service quality in connection
with customer satisfaction and how to enhance the level of satisfaction of youths towards
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
58
McDonaldrsquos Along with the important findings obtained by this study the findings could be
useful not only to alert the Hong Kong McDonaldrsquos management to direct their priorities to
the needs of its customers but also to other McDonaldrsquos and fast food chains
In generally respondents in different sexes and occupations had different levels of
satisfaction to McDonaldrsquos Females tended to be more satisfied with McDonaldrsquos than
males On the other hand respondents overall gave high scores in service quality of
McDonaldrsquos in five dimensions namely ldquoFoodrdquo ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo
and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo ability tohelliprdquo Among then ldquoConveniencerdquo got the highest mean scores
There is a significant relationship between university education levels of respondents
and service dimensions in some attributes namely ldquoStaff greeting customerrdquo ldquoStaff who
have food beverage knowledgerdquo and ldquoSympathetic handling complainsrdquo Respondents
having university education are more agreeable towards less satisfaction than their other
education levels
The most important findings are that there is a positive relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction If youths felt that the service quality of attributes was
good then they had high level of satisfaction with these attributes However if youths felt
that the service quality of attributes was bad then they had low level of satisfaction with
these attributes In other words if McDonaldrsquos wants to enhance its customer satisfaction
it should improve the attributes which had been regarded as bad by respondents
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
59
52 Recommendations for McDonaldrsquos
Since the ldquoFoodrdquo attribute had received the lowest mean scores from respondents
more resources should be spent on not just improving the quality of food other service
quality dimensions such as ldquoServicerdquo ldquoAtmosphererdquo ldquoConveniencerdquo and ldquoMcDonaldsrsquo
ability tohelliprdquo should not be ignored Although the findings indicate that these attributes
have relatively higher mean scores of service quality the management of McDonaldrsquos
ought to take them into consideration and continue to maintain the quality standard in
order to meet the basic needs of customers
As mentioned above there is a positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction In that case if McDonaldrsquos wants to improve its customer
satisfaction it has to enhance its service quality because the increase in service quality
would lead to an increase in customer satisfaction On the other hand base on the Gap
model analysis mentioned in the literature review if there were bigger distances between
expectation and performance of one attribute the level of customer satisfaction would be
lower
People always have a negative feeling to McDonaldrsquos about its nutrition Therefore
McDonaldrsquos needs to add more healthy food ingredients in its menu as food should be
both beneficial to health and delicious McDonaldrsquos could offer food and beverages to
customers according to the Food Pyramid which stipulates a range of recommended
servings from each of the five food groups Also McDonaldrsquos could add food which is
currently lacking in the menu based on the Food Pyramid for example fruits vegetables
grains and cereal etc
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
60
Low efficiency of service is a problem that happens in the gap 3 It happened
because actual delivery of the service did not meet the specifications set by management
In order to increase the efficiency of service McDonaldrsquos could help its staff to build up the
spirit of teamwork or provide different kinds of training courses to its staff such as
technical skills communication skills and service attributes training etc
Technical skills training could make them became more familiar with their job so that
it could increase their productivity As a result the efficiency of service can be increased
Besides Communication skills and service attributes training should be held regularly It
could benefit staff and McDonaldrsquos in the long term The staff should be informed about
the right attitudes to serve customers so that they could serve the customers in a polite
and appreciated manner By doing so they could become more friendly polite and helpful
On the other hand a smooth service procedure is another key element to increase
the efficiency of service The service procedure currently adopted by McDonaldrsquos was
slower comparing the procedure it adopted in the past McDonaldrsquos should assign more
staff to be responsible for collecting food and beverages orders while customers are
waiting for the food ordered in front of the counter
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos was high temperature of McDonaldrsquos was
uncomfortable and Level of cleanliness of McDonaldrsquos was low as claimed by many
respondents in the research They happened in gap 1 as managementrsquos lack of full
understanding about how customers formulate their expectations
To solve this problem McDonaldrsquos could do some market research to gather the real
needs of customers For the actual application McDonaldrsquos could separate an area for
people who want to have a relatively quiet environment to enjoy their meals Moreover
McDonaldrsquos should put a sign of ldquoQuilt Areardquo on the wall in order to remind customers
McDonaldrsquos could adjust the air-condition based on the change of the weather Also the
management of McDonaldrsquos could arrange more human resources to do the cleaning job
or purchase more powerful cleaning machines
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
61
53 Further Research
Even though there are some limitations in this study it remains to have certain
potential values in providing a foundation for future research There are several
opportunities to extend this study and the following are the recommendations that can be
considered for future research
The study could be replicated for McDonaldrsquos located in different countries such as
China Japan and Singapore etc and the results could be compared with this study to
examine similarities and differences among the findings In additions further studies on
service quality and satisfaction measurement can focus on the issue of the different socio
demographic variables on the impact on service quality dimensions and overall
satisfaction levels for instance gender age level of education profession and other
relevant economic factors
References
Aaker D A and Jacobson R (1994) The financial information content of perceived
Quality Journal of Marketing Research Vol 31(2) pp 191-201
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
62
Anderson EW and Sullivan M (1993) The antecedents and consequences of customer
satisfaction for firms Marketing Science Vol 12(2) pp 125-143
Antonio C L (2008) Enhancing Luxury Cruise Liner Operators Competitive Advantage
A study aimed at improving customer loyalty and future patronage Journal of travel and
tourism marketing Vol 25 (1) pp1-12
Andersson T D (1992) Another model of service quality A model of cause and effects
of service quality tested on the case within the restaurant industry The Netherlands Van
Gorcum
Babakus E and Boller G W (1992) An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale
Journal of Business Research Vol 24(5) pp 253-268
Ball SD et al (1992) Fast food operations and their management Cheltenham Stanley
Thrones Ltd
Bacel (1999) Methodology Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwenglpolyueduhkeectrstyleguidemethodintrohtm
Barsky J D (1995) World-Class Customer satisfaction Irwin
Bitner MJ Fisk RP and Brown SW (1993) Tracking the Evolution of the Services
Marketing Literature Journal of Retailing Vol 69(1) pp 61 - 103
Bowen J (1990) Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing
Insights Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol18 (1) pp 43-49
Bowen D (2001) Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CSD) on
long-haul inclusive toursmdasha reality check on theoretical considerations Tourism
Management Vol 22(5) pp 49ndash61
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
63
Business Week (2009) Top 100 global brands scoreboard Online Last accessed on 21
Feb 2009 at httpbwntbusinessweekcominteractive_reportstop_brandsindexasp
Blanchard RF and Galloway RL (1994) Quality in retail banking International journal
of service industry management Vol 5(4) pp5-23
Breakthrough Youth (2004) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkiryouthdatabankhehe_01htm
Breakthrough Youth (2007) Online Last accessed on 21 Feb 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghkirResearch21_CyberriskCyberriskhtm
Bolton RN (1998) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers relationship
with a continuous service provider The role of customer satisfaction Marketing
Science Vol17 (1) pp 45-65
Brown SW Gummesson E Edvardsson B and Guestavasson B (1991) Service
Quality Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives Lexington Books
Carman J M (1990) Consumer perception of service quality An assessment of the
SERVQUAL dimensions Journal of Retailing Vol 66(1) pp33-55
Clark M Riley M Wilkie E and Wood RC (1998) Researching and writing
dissertations in hospitality and tourism London Thomson business presses
Chan and Baum (2007) Determination of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using
Herzbergrsquos Motivator and Hygiene Factor Theory An Exploratory Study Tourism Culture
amp Communication Vol7 (2) pp117-131
Chadee D and Mattsson J (1995) Measuring customer satisfaction in tourist service
encounters Journal of Travel amp Tourism Marketing Vol 4(4) pp97-107
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
64
Choi T Y and Chu R (2001) Determinants of hotel guestsrsquo satisfaction and repeat
patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry International Journal of Hospitality
Management Vol 20(3) pp277ndash297
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003) Solomon H Katz editor in chief William Woys
Weaver associate editor New York Scribner
Edvardsson B (1996) Making service-quality improvement work Managing Service
Quality Vol 6(1) pp 49-52
Fornell C (1992) A national customer satisfaction barometer the Swedish experience
Journal of Marketing Vol 56(1) pp 6-21
Food and Environment Hygiene Department (2007) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 at
httpwwwfehdgovhkstatisticspleasant_environmentstatistienh_2004_2007html
Fitzsimmons JA and Fitzsimmons MJ (2008) Service Management Operations
Strategy Information Technology New York McGraw-Hill Irwin
Gould W (1995) Business in action McDonalds Cherry tree Press
Groumlnroos C (1978) A Service Oriented Approach to Marketing of Services European
Journal of Marketing Vol12(8) pp 588 ndash 601
Groumlnroos C (1983) Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector
Helsingfors Sweden Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Groumlnroos C (1988) Service quality the six criteria of good perceived service quality
Review of Business Vol 9(3) pp10-13
Groumlnroos C (1990) Service management and marketing Lexington Books
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
65
Groumlnroos C (1993) Toward a Third phase in service Quality Research Challenges and
future direction Advances in services marketing JAI Press Greenwich CT Vol 2(6) pp
49-64
Gitomer J (1998) Customer satisfaction is worthless customer loyalty is priceless Bard
Press
Gary H and Gary C (2007) Customer Service Quality Satisfaction and Operational
Performance A proposed model for Australian public aquatic centers Annals of leisure
research Vol 10(2) pp168-195
Han H and Ryu K (2006) Moderating Role of Personal Characteristics in Forming
Restaurant CustomersBehavioral Intentions An Upscale Restaurant Setting Journal of
Hospitality amp Leisure Marketing Vol 15(4) pp56-73
Heskett JL Sasser WE and Hart CWL (1990) Breakthrough service Free Press
New York
Hill N Brierley J and MacDougall B (1999) How to measure customer satisfaction
Gower
Hong Kong Youths Data Bank (2009) Online Last accessed on 15 February 2009 at
httpwwwbreakthroughorghk
Hoffman KD and Bateson EG (1997) Essentials of services marketing The USA The
Dryden Press
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Hong Kong Tourism Board (2008) Onlone Last at access at 1 November2008 at
httpwwwdiscoverhongkongcomchinadiningrestaurant-guidehtml
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
66
Johns N and Lee-Ross D (1998) Research methods in service industry management
New York Cassell
Juran J M (1982) Upper Management and Quality New Yourk McGraw-Hill
Lau P M Abdolali Khatibi Akbar and Yong D (2006) Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management Vol 13 (2) pp 144-160
Levitt T (1981) Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles Harvard Business
Review Vol 81 pp 94 - 102
Leonard L B (1980) Service marketing is different Business Magazine Vol 8 (12) pp
24-29
Lobstein T (1998) Fast food facts a compendium of the hidden secrets of fast food catering
London Camden Press Ltd
McDonalds Corporation (2008) Online Last at access at 17 November2008
httpwwwmcdonaldscomcorpabouthtml
McDonalds Corporation of Hong Kong (2008) Online Last at access at 17
November2008 httpwwwmcdonaldscomhkenglishabout
McDonaldrsquos Annual Report (2007) Online Last at access at 17 November2008 at
http216139227101interactivemcd2007
Miller JA (1977) Studying satisfaction modifying model eliciting expectation posing
problems and marking meaningful measurements Conceptualization and measurement
of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Marking science institute Cambridge MA
pp 72-91
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
67
Maister D H (1997) Managing the professional service firm London Free Press
paperbacks
Ostrom A and Iacobucci D (1995) Consumer tradeoffs and the evaluation of service
Journal of marketing Vol 59(1) pp17-28
Onkvisit S and Shaw JJ (1991) Is Services Marketing ldquoReally Different Journal of
Professional Services Marketing Vol 7(2) pp 3 - 17
Oh H and Jeong M (2004) An extended process of value judgment International
Journal of hospitality Management Vol 23(4) pp 343-362
Olsen MO Teare R Gummesson E (1996) Service quality in hospitality organizations
Cassell
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of
satisfaction decision Journal of retailing Vol17 (4) pp 460-469
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1985) A conceptual model of service
quality and its implication for future research Journal of Marketing Vol 49 pp41-55
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1988) SERVQUAL Amultiple-item scale
for measuring consumer perception of service quality Journal of Retailing Vol 64(1)
pp12-14
Parasuraman A Zeithaml V A amp Berry L L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of
the SERVQUAL scale Journal of retailing Vol 67(4) pp 420-500
Regan WJ (1963) The Service Revolution Journal of Marketing Vol 47 (2) pp 57 - 62
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the sociology of consumption Fast food credit cards
and casinos London Sage Publications Ltd
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
68
Sanjay K J (2008) Searching for Critical Success Factors A Dimension-Specific
Assessment of Service Quality and Its Relationship with Customer Satisfaction and
Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants Global cases on hospitality industry The
Haworth Press Taylor and Francis Group
Sekaran U (2003) Research methods for business A skill building approach United
States of America John Wiley and Sons Inc
Sarv Singh and Soin (1999) Total quality essentials using quality tools and systems to
improve and manage your business New York McGraw-Hill
Scott-Moncrieff C (1999) The vitamin alphabet your guide to vitamins minerals and
food supplements London Collins and Brown
Schlosser E (2001) Fast Food Nation the dark side of the all-American meal Houghton
Mifflin Company
Stewart D and Kamin M (1993) Secondary research information sources and
methods Thousand Oals CA Sage Publications
Sheely A Chen SL and Huang HI (2008) Retirement resorts service quality and its
effects on satisfaction and word-of-mouth behavior
The Consortium Journal Vol12 (1) pp 5-13
The Population by-census Thematic Report Youths of The Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (2006) Online Last accessed at 28 November2008
at httpwwwbycensus2006govhkFileManagerENContent_96206bc_youthspdf
Watson J L (2007) Golden Arches East McDonalds in East Asia Good Morning Press
Wolak R Kalafatis S and Harris P (1998) An Investigation Into Four Characteristics of
service Journal of Empirical Generalizations in Marketing Science Vol 3(2) pp 25-27
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
69
Wikipedia (2008) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008
httpenwikipediaorgwikiService_(economics)Service_characteristics
Wong SM (2002) IMI Consumer Behaviors and Life Patterns Yearbook Guang Bo
Chubanshe Beijing
Yuksel A amp Yuksel F (2001) Mearsurement and management issues in customer
satisfaction research Review critique and research agenda part one Journal of travel
and tourism marketing Vol10 (4) pp 47-80
You Tube (2006) Online Last accessed at 18 November2008 at
httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=cF_sRQQS8Noampfeature=related
Zeithaml VA(1981) How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ between Goods and
Services reprinted in Lovelock C (1991) Services Marketing 2nd Edition Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall
12Manage (2008) Online Last at access at 10 November2008 at
httpwww12managecomdescription_competitive_positionhtml
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
70
Appendices
Appendix A Questionnaire
I am a final year degree student of Sheffield Hallam University I would like to conduct a research about the service quality and satisfaction of McDonaldrsquos of youths who aged from18 to 24 years old
It takes few minutes to answer this questionnaire I appreciate your feedback very much All information provided by you will be kept confidential and for academic purpose only (Please tick radic in the appropriate box) Thank you 您好我是雪菲爾哈倫大學的學生我正在收集資料關於 18 至 24 歲青年人對麥當勞服務質素及滿
意度的意見希望用大概五分鐘時間去表達您眼中麥當勞的意見所收集的意見只會用作學術
性的綜合分析並不會作個別的研究請剔出成你的選擇於適當的空格中謝謝
第一部分 Section A
1 我曾到麥當勞就餐 I dined in McDonaldrsquos
是 Yes
否 No
2 每星期我會光顧麥當勞的次數 How often do I visit McDonaldrsquos in a week
0 -1 次 time
2 -3 次 times
4 -5 次 times
6 次或以上 times or above
3 我會光顧麥當勞的原因(最多可選 3 項) The reason I go to McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
價格合理 reasonable price
口味 taste
方便 convenience
可以換購玩具 availability of toys
多種食品可供選擇 a wide range of food
高服務品質 high service quality
其他 others 請列出 please state_______________________
4 我滿意麥當勞現有的服務(最多可選 3 項) I am satisfied with the exiting service of McDonaldrsquos (You may choose three options in maximum)
24 小時營業 24 hours operation
清潔檯面 cleaning table
提供洗手間 provide toilet
迅速提供食物 provide food quickly
提供量身訂做的食物 provide tailor made food
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
71
定時推出新産品 introduce new product periodically
可以換購玩具 availability of toys 其他 others 請列出 please state________________________
第二部分 Section B
5 只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中Please tick ONE box only 在光顧麥當勞前的期望 光顧麥當勞後覺得他的表現如何
My expectations before dining Performance of McDonalds in McDonalds after dining in it
期望 Expectations 表現 Performance
低Low 高High 低Low 高High
1 2 3 4 5 食物方面 Food 1 2 3 4 5
食物的賣相 Presentation of food
餐單的食物種類 Menu variety
食物的營養 Nutritious of food
食物的味道 Taste of food
食物的品質 Quality of food
食物的新鮮程度 Freshness of food
食物的溫度 Temperature of food
服務 Service
親切 有禮和願意幫忙的員工
Friendly polite and helpful staff
注意周到的員工 Attentive staff
對客人打招呼 Staff greeting customers
有效率的服務 Efficient service
員工願意服務客人
Staff are willing to serve
員工對食品飲品的知識
Staff who have foodbeverage knowledge
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
72
對投訴的態度
Sympathetic handling complaint
環境方面 Atmosphere
麥當勞的舒適程度
Level of comfort in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的寧靜程度
Level of noise in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的清潔程度
Level of cleanliness in McDonaldrsquos
麥當勞的裝修Decoration of McDonaldrsquos
私人的用餐空間 Dining privacy
麥當勞的溫度 McDonaldrsquos temperature
麥當勞的外觀 McDonaldrsquos appearance
員工的外觀 Staff appearance
方便程度 Convenience
交通 Transportation
容易被找到 Accessibility
麥當勞能夠 McDonaldrsquos abilityhellip
提供有新意的用餐感覺
Offered a new dining experience
保持食品的水準
Offered food a consistent standard
給我舒適用餐的感覺
Felt comfortable to eat in
保持服務的水準
Offered service of a consistent standard
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
73
第三部分 Section C
麥當勞在下項目中達到你的期望 (只能剔一個選擇於適當的空格中1 表示極度不同意 5表示極度同意)
McDonalds meet your expectations for each of these items (Please tick ONE box only 1 means strongly disagree 5 means strongly agree)
6 整體而言我覺得麥當勞的服務品質良好 I am overall satisfied with McDonalds service quality
1 2 3 4 5
7 整體而言我對麥當勞的整體表現感到滿意 I am overall satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
8 跟其他速食餐廳比起來我很滿意麥當勞 Comparing with other fast food restaurants I am very satisfied with McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
9 我認為選擇麥當勞是正確的 I think it is right to choose McDonaldrsquos
1 2 3 4 5
10 我認為麥當勞的整體表現符合我的期待 I think the overall performance of McDonaldrsquos meets my expectation
1 2 3 4 5
第四部分 Section D
11 年齡 Age 12 性別 Gender 18-20 男性 Male
21-22 女性 Female
23-24
13 教育程度Level of education 14 職業 Occupation 小學 Primary School 學生 Student
中學 High School 專業人士 Professional
文憑高級文憑 DiplomaHigh Diploma 文職 Clerical work
副學士 Associate degree 製造業 Manufacturing
大專大學以上 University Above 零售 Retailing
教育 Education
Others 其他請註明_______全 卷 完
Thank you very much for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
74
Appendix B Results of Paired Sample Tests
Paired Differences
t df
Sig (2-
tailed)
95 Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Mean
Std
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1 E1 - P1 11765 104424 12663 -13511 37041 929 67 356
Pair 2 E2 - P2 -08824 90990 11034 -30848 13201 -800 67 427
Pair 3 E3 - P3 01471 108576 13167 -24811 27752 112 67 911
Pair 4 E4 - P4 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair 5 E5 - P5 08824 111617 13536 -18193 35841 652 67 517
Pair 6 E6 - P6 07353 111055 13467 -19528 34234 546 67 587
Pair 7 E7 - P7 23529 110788 13435 -03287 50346 1751 67 084
Pair 8 E8 - P8 27941 109061 13226 01543 54339 2113 67 038
Pair 9 E9 - P9 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
10
E10 - P10 07353 96686 11725 -16050 30756 627 67 533
Pair
11
E11 - P11 23529 102386 12416 -01253 48312 1895 67 062
Pair
12
E12 - P12 08824 115559 14014 -19148 36795 630 67 531
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
75
Pair
13
E13 - P13 10294 105292 12769 -15192 35780 806 67 423
Pair
14
E14 - P14 08824 108910 13207 -17538 35185 668 67 506
Pair
15
E15 - P15 05882 94446 11453 -16979 28743 514 67 609
Pair
16
E16 - P16 16176 122913 14905 -13575 45928 1085 67 282
Pair
17
E17 - P17 13235 117059 14195 -15099 41570 932 67 354
Pair
18
E18 - P18 -04412 83637 10142 -24656 15833 -435 67 665
Pair
19
E19 - P19 16176 108738 13186 -10144 42497 1227 67 224
Pair
20
E20 - P20 14706 114949 13940 -13118 42530 1055 67 295
Pair
21
E21 - P21 -02941 92994 11277 -25451 19568 -261 67 795
Pair
22
E22 - P22 01471 117807 14286 -27045 29986 103 67 918
Pair
23
E23 - P23 -17647 82753 10035 -37678 02384 -1758 67 083
Pair
24
E24 - P24 -08824 76754 09308 -27402 09755 -948 67 347
Pair
25
E25 - P25 11765 80167 09722 -07640 31169 1210 67 230
Pair
26
E26 - P26 14706 85107 10321 -05894 35306 1425 67 159
Pair
27
E27 - P27 04412 95314 11558 -18659 27483 382 67 704
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
76
Pair
28
E28 - P28 -02941 86336 10470 -23839 17957 -281 67 780
