View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Directory of Open Access Journals 60 Economic, social,political and cultural problems of the future society A comparative study of male and female perceptions of service quality in fast food industry ~ Ogunnaike Olaleke Oluseye (Department of business studies Covenant university) Abstract: The development of technology has brought about sudden shift in the economy towards service economy. It becomes important therefore that marketers need to bring marketing principles, theo- ries, and strategies to bear in this emerging economy if they must satisfy their customers profitably. The study makes use of SERVQUAL, a research instrument developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry to measure the impact of customer expectations on the perceptions of service quality. Three hypotheses were put forward and tested. The first hypothesis was to determine whether there was any difference between customer expectations and perceptions of fast food service. Dependent t-test was used and it was discovered that there was no significant difference between the two parameters. The second hypothesis was to deter- mine whether there was difference between male and female expectations of service quality. Independent t-test was employed and it was found that there was no significant difference between the two parameters. The third hypothesis of the study was to determine whether there was difference between male and female perceptions of service quality. An independent t-test was also used for this hypothesis and it was discovered that there was no significant difference between the two parameters measure. Based on the findings above some of the recommendations made were: 1. It is important that Nigerian fast food restaurants established a strong presence in the cyber space by having a functional website. 2. There is a need for the fast food operators to improve upon working conditions, including salaries paid to workers in the sector. Keywords: Service Quality, Expectation, Perception, Fast-food, SERVQUAL No. 10 ~ 2009 Economic, social, political and cultural problems of the future society 61 Background of the study who have no succumbed to the pleas for a tip are sometimes thrown a mean look, and that is if he or she has not already been sworn at or The perception of individuals tends to cursed in the doorman’s native language. differ based on their motives, need, expecta- The sales attendants dress in standard tions, previous experiences and present en- uniforms, usually in the corporate or house counter. This is about the same way Nigerians colours of the restaurants. It is worth men- perceive and adjust to the demands of mod- tioning that these salesmen sometimes mix up ern living particularly in urban and metro- customers’ orders and do not normally take it politan cities. The fast lane nature to modern kindly to customers’ complaints, most times living has forced most city dwellers to adjust refusing to change a customer’s order. their styles of living to fit into this kind of According to Parasuraman, Zeithaml, existence. and Berry (1985), when expectations are ex- Some of the major players in fast food ceeded, service is perceived to be of excep- industry in Nigeria include Mr. Biggs, tional quality also to be a pleasant surprise. Sweet Sensation, Tantalizers, Southern Fried When expectations are not met, however, ser- Chicken (SFC), Tastee Fried Chicken (TFC), vice quality is deemed unacceptable. When Mama Kas, Favourites, Hunger Busters, expectations are confirmed by perceived ser- Frenchies, Domino and Tetrazzini . vice quality it is satisfactory. Each customer contact is referred to as There is, therefore, need to measure the a moment of truth, an opportunity to satis- difference between customer expectations and fy or dissatisfy the customer. The whole es- the perception of service quality. As there is sence of marketing is to satisfy the customers no absolute service quality, the value received profitably. Customer services in the Nigerian of a service rendered is a function of how close fast-food restaurant context is a bit differ- the customers’ experiences match their expec- ent from what is in the western countries, tations both of process and outcome (Bell and where customer service has already moved Zemke, 1987). In other words, service assess- on to the stage of relationship management, ment is largely dependent on customer per- with companies introducing several loyalty ception of what they have received (Zeithaml, schemes to attract and retain their customers. Parasuraman, and Berry, 1990). Almost every Nigerian fast-food restaurant Considering the benefits inherent in uses doormen and women, their main job customer retention through delivering qual- is to open the doors for customers and give ity service in fast-food outlets, it becomes them a welcoming smile. important to identify those factors that influ- However, this doorman concept, which ence the perception of service quality. The originally was hailed by, is now being abused study therefore, seeks to provide answers to by the doormen. As a result customers nor- the following research questions: mally leave the restaurants with complaints Is there any significant difference be- and ‘bad tastes in their mouths’ as a result of tween customer expectations and percep- the antics and attitudes of the doormen, who tion of service quality in Nigerian fast-food have now converted the front doors to beg- industry? ging spots. Customers no longer receive the expected welcome smiles, those customers Is there any significant difference No. 10 ~ 2009 62 Economic, social,political and cultural problems of the future society between male and female expectations of ser- restaurants sold mainly meat pies, fish pies, vice quality? cakes, egg rolls, sausage roll and such other Does the gender of customers influ- pastries that were culled from foreign cui- ence their perceptions of service quality? sine books, they had adopted a standardized approach at this time, offering fairly similar products to the customers. This strategy was Literature review justified by Herbig (1998) who believed that 1.The competitive strategies of firms may seek such approach to marketing nigeria’s fast food restaurants their productions because of high costs of ad- aptation and differentiation of products. For Nigeria’s fast food restaurants, the Over time however, came the need need to compete against one another is borne to adapt the products to meet local needs, out of a desire to attract new customers, and tastes, and culture. This was in recognition also to satisfy and keep existing customers. of the fact that marketing should only aim Stewart (1996) writes that successfully imple- to satisfy the needs and wants of customers, mented customer retention strategies are a which in the Nigerian context was very much point of competitive advantage. This means culturally based. The shift from standardiza- that the customer should always be treated tion to adaptation may also have been in- as king, and should be at the core or heart of fluenced by some of these classifications by the operations of every business. For some of Herbig (1998): the fast-food restaurants, customer service is • Variations in consumer needs. a key competitive strategy which for some • Variations in conditions of use. others, customer service is not very high on • Variation in ability to buy and differ- their agenda, the latter operate as if it is still a ences in income levels. seller’s world, this may be the case for those • Strong cultural differences. restaurants operating in towns where there is • Environment-induced adaptation, less competition. differences in raw materials avail- Nworah (2006) lists the competitive ability, government requirements and weapons of Nigerian fast food restaurants regulations. as including taste, prices, environment, class Unlike the fast food sector in the sensation, visibility and availability of park- Western countries, Nigerian fast food restau- ing space. They conclude by saying that for rants do not engage in much sales promotion the restaurants, the critical factor remains to encourage sales. If any the sales promo- the quality of products provided to custom- tions they normally engage in are one-off ers at affordable prices. These classifications activities rather than planned orchestrated will appear to be consistent with the strate- sales promotion companies which is tied into gies adopted by the major players in the sec- the overall marketing plan. The reasons may tor, this is because lesser known operators be as a result of the fact that the sector is still are not so much concerned with long-term believed to be driven by the fast food opera- brand building efforts which may be eroded tors, rather than by the customers, so there by poor product and service offerings. is not a felt need to actively attract, keep and In the beginning Nigerian fast-food reward both new and existing customers. No. 10 ~ 2009 Economic, social, political and cultural problems of the future society 63 2.Dimensions of service quality occurs, the ability to recover quickly and with professionalism can create very positive per- The dimensions of service quality were ceptions of quality (Gronroos, C. (1990). identified by marketing researches study- Assurance: The knowledge and cour- ing several different service categories: ap- tesy of employees as well as their ability to pliance repair, retail banking, long-distance convey trust and confidence. The assurance telephone service, securities brokerage, and dimension includes the following features: credit card companies. They identified five Competence to perform the service, polite- principal dimensions that customers use to ness and respect for the customer, effective judge service quality – reliability, respon- communication with the customer, and the siveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles, general attitude that the server has the cus- which are listed in order of declining rela- tomer’s best interests at heart. tive importance to customers (Parasuraman, Empathy: The provision of caring, indi- Zeithaml and Berry, 1988).