Factors impacting on student satisfaction towards cafeteria service at thuy loi university

Starting from the actual situation and theorientation of enhancing student satisfaction from the managers of TLU cafeteria, I have decided to choose the topic “Factors impacting on stude

NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY

BUSINESS SCHOOL

-o0o -HOANG LINH CHI

FACTORS IMPACTING ON STUDENT

SATISFACTION TOWARDS CAFETERIA SERVICE

AT THUY LOI UNIVERSITY

Bachelor of Business Administration in English (E-BBA) Thesis

Ha Noi, 2019

NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY

BUSINESS SCHOOL

-o0o -HOANG LINH CHI

FACTORS IMPACTING ON STUDENT

SATISFACTION TOWARDS CAFETERIA SERVICE

AT THUY LOI UNIVERSITY Bachelor of Business Administration in English (E-BBA) Thesis

Student: Hoang Linh Chi Class: E-BBA 7A

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Le Thi Lan Huong

Ha Noi, 2019

to go beyond their limit and to dream for the best

Additionally, I would like to express my gratitude toward all managersand staff at Thuy Loi University cafeteria that had given me a permission toconduct this research in their area and also willingness to help and give advice onthis research was greatly appreciate

Other than that, special thanks also to our parents and family for thecountless times you helped me throughout my journey at university Yourencouragement when the time got rough are much appreciated and noted Thanks

to all my good friends, near and far for the encouragement and cooperationduring the time I studied at E-BBA program and Meiji Gakuin University

Last but not least, I also would like to thank to my inspirer - WINNER Iwill not be this stronger without your music and determination as my inspiration.Your music gives me motivation and strength to conduct this researchsuccessfully

TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGE 1

ABBREVIATIONS 4

LIST OF TABLE 5

LIST OF FIGURES 8

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9

INTRODUCTION 11

CHAPTER 1 11

1.1 Rationale 11

1.2 Research Objectives 12

1.3 Research Question 13

1.4 Research Methodology 13

1.4.1 Research Process 13

1.4.2 Data collection 14

1.4.3 Data analysis 16

1.5 Research Scope 17

1.6 Thesis Structure 18

CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ON STUDENT SATISFACTION TOWARDS CAFETERIA SERVICES 19

2.1 Literature review of food services and cafeteria services 19

2.1.1 Food services 19

2.1.2 Cafeteria service 21

2.2 Literature review of student satisfaction towards cafeteria service 22

2.2.1 Definition of student 22

2.2.2 Definition of student satisfaction 23

2.2.3 Role of student satisfaction 24

2.2.4 Factors affecting student satisfaction towards cafeteria service 26

2.3 Proposed research framework 32

CHAPTER 3: OVERVIEW OF CAFETERIA AT THUY LOI UNIVERSITY 39 3.1 Overview of Song Thai Company 39

3.1.1 Development of Song Thai Company 39

3.1.2 Organizational structure 40

3.1.3 Business performance 41

3.2 Song Thai Cafeteria at Thuy Loi University 44

CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH RESULTS ON STUDENT SATISFACTION TOWARDS CAFETERIA SERVICE AT THUY LOI UNIVERSITY 49

4.1 Respondent profile 49

4.2 Data testing 50

4.2.1 Data reduction using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) 50

4.2.2 Reliability testing with Cronbach's alpha 53

4.3 Students’ evaluation towards cafeteria service at Thuy Loi University 55

4.3.1 Student’s assessment of Staff performance and Price factor 55

4.3.2 Student’s assessment of Menu variety, Food quality and Cleanliness factor 62

4.3.3 Student’s assessment of Ambient factor 67

4.4 Influence level of factors impacting on students’ satisfaction 72

4.5 Summary of finding 75

4.5.1 Students’ satisfaction with Thuy Loi University cafeteria service 75

4.5.2 Students’ dissatisfaction and causes 76

CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE STUDENT’S SATISFACTION TOWARDS THUY LOI UNIVERSITY CAFETERIA SERVICE 79

5.1 Developing orientation of Thuy Loi University cafeteria service 79

5.2 Recommendations to improve students’ satisfation at Thuy Loi University cafeteria 80

5.2.1 Enhancing staff performance 80

5.2.2 Adjusting reasonable price 82

5.2.3 Improving menu variety 82

5.2.4 Improving food quality 85

5.2.5 Improving the cleanliness 85

5.2.6 Improving the ambience 86

REFERENCES 87

APPENDIXES 90

EFA Exploratory Factor Analysis

KMO Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin

SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Science

TLU Thuy Loi University

LIST OF TABLE

Table 2.1: Summarize of customer satisfaction research models in cafeteria

sector 31

Table 2.2 Measurement of Menu variety used in the research 33

Table 2.3 Measurement of Food quality used in the research 34

Table 2.4 Measurement of Cleanliness used in the research 35

Table 2.5 Measurement of Price used in the research 36

Table 2.6 Measurement of Ambient used in the research 37

Table 2.7 Measurement of Staff performance used in the research 38

Table 3.1: Some contracts that Song Thai Company has been conducting over 7 years 42

Table 3.2: Financial data in recent years 43

Table 3.3 Menu at Thuy Loi University Cafeteria 48

Table 4.18 Rotated Component Matrix (6th) 53

Table 4.19 Cronbach's alpha Reliability Statistics 53

Table 4.20 Cronbach’s Alpha Item-Total Statistics 54

Table 4.21 Factors & variables 55

Table 4.22 Students’ evaluation on Staff performance and Price variables 56

Table 4.23 Analysis results between age groups and Staff performance and Price factor 57

Table 4.24 Students’ evaluation between age groups and Staff performance and

Price factor 58

Table 4.25 Analysis results between student’s gender and Staff performance and Price factor 59

Table 4.26 Students’ evaluation between student’s gender and Staff performance and Price factor 59

Table 4.27 Analysis results between student’s eating time and Staff performance and Price factor 60

Table 4.28 Students’ evaluation between eating time and Staff performance and Price factor 61

Table 4.29 Chi-square test results of the variable "Eating time" with variables of Staff performance and Price factor 61

Table 4.30 Students’ evaluation on Menu variety, Food quality and Cleanliness variables 62

Table 4.31 Analysis results between age groups and Menu variety, Food quality and Cleanliness factor 63

Table 4.32 Students’ evaluation between age groups and Menu variety, Food quality and Cleanliness factor 64

Table 4.33 Analysis results between student’s gender and Menu variety, Food quality and Cleanliness factor 65

Table 4.34 Students’ evaluation between student’s gender and Menu variety, Food quality and Cleanliness factor 65

Table 4.35 Analysis results between eating time and Menu variety, Food quality and Cleanliness factor 66

Table 4.36 Students’ evaluation between eating time and Menu variety, Food quality and Cleanliness factor 67

Table 4.37 Students’ evaluation on Ambient’s variables 68

Table 4.38 Analysis results between age groups and Ambient factor 69

Table 4.39 Students’ evaluation between age groups and Ambient factor 69

Table 4.40 Chi-square test results of the variable "Age" with variables of Ambient factor 70

Table 4.41 Analysis results between student’s gender and Ambient factor 70

Table 4.42 Students’ evaluation between student’s gender 71

and Ambient factor 71

Table 4.43 Analysis results between eating time and Ambient factor 71

Table 4.44 Students’ evaluation between eating time and Ambient factor 72

Table 4.45 Model Summary 73

Table 4.46 ANOVA 73

Table 4.47 Coefficients 74

Table 5.1: Recommended menu for Thuy Loi University 83

Table 4.1 KMO and Bartlett's Test (1s) 99

Table 4.2 Total Variance Explained (1st) 100

Table 4.3 Rotated Component Matrix (1st) 101

Table 4.4 KMO and Bartlett's Test (2nd) 102

Table 4.5.Total Variance Explained (2nd) 103

Table 4.6: Rotated Component Matrix (2nd) 104

Table 4.7 KMO and Bartlett's Test (3rd) 105

Table 4.8 Total Variance Explained (3rd) 105

Table 4.9 Rotated Component Matrix (3rd) 106

Table 4.10 KMO and Bartlett's Test (4th) 107

Table 4.11 Total Variance Explained (4th) 107

Table 4.12 Rotated Component Matrix (4th) 108

Table 4.13 KMO and Bartlett's Test (5th) 109

Table 4.14 Total Variance Explained (5th) 109

Table 4.15 Rotated Component Matrix (5th) 110

Table 4.16 KMO and Bartlett's Test (6th) 111

Table 4.17 Total Variance Explained (6th) 111

Table 4.18 Rotated Component Matrix (6th) 112

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1 Research process 13

Figure 1.2 Primary data collection method 15

Figure 2.1 Research model 32

Figure 3.1 Song Thai's organizational structure 40

Figure 3.2 TLU cafeteria's organizational structure 45

Figure 3.3 Food process at Thuy Loi University cafeteria 46

Figure 4.1 Theopercentageoof participations surveyed by age 49

Figure 4.2 The percentage of participants surveyed by gender 49

Figure 4.3: The percentage of participants surveyed by eating time 50

Figure 4.4: Research model 55

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Cafeteria is more and more popular among students in every university inVietnam In order to better serve the needs of people, it is essential for TLUcafeteria to get an insight of the concept of customers satisfaction and itsimportant determinants that affect it Starting from the actual situation and theorientation of enhancing student satisfaction from the managers of TLU cafeteria,

I have decided to choose the topic “Factors impacting on student satisfactiontowards cafeteria service at Thuy Loi University” with the desire to contributepartly to the development of food services of Thuy Loi University in particularand Vietnam in general

The research is carried out to achieve the following objectives:

● To identified factors affecting the patient satisfaction at Thuy LoiUniversity cafeteria

● To analyze these factors to understand how they impact on studentssatisfaction at Thuy Loi University cafeteria

● To propose some feasible recommendations to improve the studentssatisfaction at Thuy Loi University cafeteria

In order to meet aforementioned goals, the research used both primary andsecondary data In particular, the secondary data were gathered from varioussources, ranging from Song Thai Company’s report, journals and some specificresearch inside as well as outside Vietnam Additionally, 200 questionnaires aresent to customers and among them, 187 questionnaires are valid Then the datawere analyzed by both qualitative and quantitative techniques with the support ofSPSS 23

After implementing EFA, Cronbach’s alpha reliability test, descriptiveanalysis and multiple regression, the research got a result that student satisfaction

at Thuy Loi University cafeteria is positively affected by the factors which

includes Staff performance and Price (1), Menu variety, Food quality andCleanliness (2) and Ambient In details, Ambient factor shows the highest impact

on overall student satisfaction Besides, the result of the student satisfactionevaluation shows that students are at least satisfied with Menu variety, Foodquality and Cleanliness (mean score =3.28) and students are more satisfied withStaff performance and Price and Ambient (mean score = 3.67 and 3.52)

From the research findings above, there are some recommendations whichhelp Thuy Loi University cafeteria to enhance its students satisfaction Theserecommendations include enhancing staff performance by valuing theemployees, think “Customer care”, explaining “Friendly”, caring more aboutstaff’s clothing and organizing some courses to train employees so that they canwork more effectively Moreover, adjusting reasonable price along withimproving menu variety all help to improve the student satisfaction.Additionally, by improving food quality and cleanliness at the cafeteria will help

to make students rely on the quality when they enjoy service at Thuy LoiUniversity cafeteria As a result, students will introduce this place to their friendswho have never been to the cafeteria Last but not least, improving the ambience

at Thuy Loi University cafeteria will create a comfortable place for students torelax after studying and attract many new customers

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale

The university experience is a rite of passage for many young people.Students often leave their homes for the first time to live with their peers inanother city or even in a different country With this coming-of-age experiencecome many unique challenges and obstacles

Many of the universities and colleges have food service operations that areproviding many variety food options and delivering flesh, healthy, tastyingredients in away that please the students Some of the university and collegehave different type of food service operations: managed service company conceptrepresenting a franchised restaurant brands, or a self-branded restaurant concept.According to the restaurant and institution survey, the survey found that 59% ofuniversity operators offered self-created food service brands, while 68% havenational brands; 43% operate regional brands and 57% offer manufacturer-branded outlets (Klasses at al, 2005)

In recent years, college and university food services have experiencedmany changes that have affected management styles, board plans, paymentmethod, menu concepts, and service styles These changes are in response to thedemands of a student as a customer base that is diverse in demographiccharacteristics, such as age, cultural background, life, and educationalexperience, and eating habits (Kotler & Armstrong, 2004)

According to the World Bank, in recent years, the economy of Vietnamhas grown at a fast rate of 6%/year on average As a result, the consumptionneeds of people in general and students in particular are increasing Morespecifically, food and drink products are problems not only for people andstudents but the whole society cares

Recently, there is a considerable competition among cafeteria and manyrestaurants near campus because of increasing number of both cafeteria andrestaurants Additionally, with the explosion on the Internet, customers havemore choices when making decision on where to choose the food service In thissituation, student satisfaction is considered to be crucial in knowing the success

of any cafeteria and restaurant as well as the trust of students for it since satisfiedcustomers are more likely to be loyal, to repeat their choice of service and bringcost advantage to the cafeteria or restaurant As a result, adapting differentiatedand customer oriented strategies through understanding student satisfaction’sdeterminants is a must for Thuy Loi cafeteria in order to stand out in thecompetition and gain a competitive edge

Hence, one of the most important criteria of cafeterias need to concentrate

on at this moment is to increase the student satisfaction This has raised thequestions of what factors impact on the student satisfaction as well as feasiblesolutions for the cafeterias to implement in the near future Starting from theactual situations and the orientation of enhancing student satisfaction from themanagers of TLU University, I has decided to choose the topic “Factorsimpacting on student satisfaction towards cafeteria service at Thuy LoiUniversity” with the desire to contribute partly to the development of foodservice of Thuy Loi University in particular and Vietnam in general

1.2 Research Objectives

The research focuses on achieving the following objectives:

- To identify factors that affect student satisfaction towards cafeteria service

at Thuy Loi University

- To analyze these factors to understand how they impact on studentsatisfaction towards cafeteria service at Thuy Loi University

- To propose some feasible recommendations to improve the studentsatisfaction towards cafeteria service at Thuy Loi University

According to Figure 1.1, the research process has these steps:

 Step 1: Study the secondary data from many sources such as journals,reports and researches related to student satisfaction towards university cafeteriaservice and factors influencing it in order to propose a theoretical frameworksuitable for the research

 Step 2: Based on the theoretical framework then design a suitablequestionnaire

 Step 3: Conduct a student survey with students who are currently usingservice at Thuy Loi University cafeteria

 Step 4: Collecting data then analyze it After that propose hypotheses andexamine it in order to draw some conclusions

 Step 5: Give recommendations to Thuy Loi University cafeteria toenhance student satisfaction when students use service there

- Documents in Vietnamese:

● The documents in Vietnamese were searched by google, domesticarticles, related research works to help the team build theoreticalbasis

● The research web pages used for searching information can bementioned as: vnexpress, baomoi,

● library.io was used to explore relevant research models written inEnglish

 Primary data: In this study, I used the primary data collection method as

follows

Figure 1.2 Primary data collection method

Source: the author (2018)

On the scale of the sample, I designed the questionnaires to collectinformation and data on students’ satisfaction towards cafeteria service at ThuyLoi University This questionnaires has 6 dimensions to evaluate studentsatisfaction at cafeteria at Thuy Loi University, which includes (1) Menu variety,(2) Food quality, (3) Cleanliness, (4) Price, (5) Ambient, (6) Staff performance

Respondent: Students have used cafeteria service at Thuy Loi University Sample size: 200 individual students who used cafeteria service at Thuy

Loi University Hair & Babin (2010) regards in his research that five respondentsper variable is analyzed as the lowest limit In this thesis I have 26 questionnairesdivided into 6 factors Therefore, when I solve the equation 26 x 5 = 130, itmeans that my research needs 130 participants as the lowest number to satisfysample size’s requirement In case there would be have some invalidquestionnaires, I decided the sample size of my research was 200

Sampling method: Applying the convenience sampling method for

students using cafeteria service at Thuy Loi University

Survey instrument: The tool to collect information is the set of survey

questions based on each scale The purpose of survey is to gain in insight intostudent’s perceived service quality offer by cafeteria at Thuy Loi University Toimprove the likelihood of response, the questionnaires was designed with easy tounderstand close-ended questions in Vietnamese that would take approximatelyseveral minutes to complete Specifically, the questionnaire is constructed onLikert 5 point scale All the respondents are asked to give their ratings ofsatisfaction level towards different factors which include both independentvariables and overall satisfaction level on the scale ranging from “1 - stronglydisagree” to “5 - strongly agree” based on their experiences, expectations andperceptions And the last section consist of only 1 question, the purpose of thisquestion is for the students to decide whether they are satisfied with theproduct/service Students in this section are required to choose an answer from 1

to 5, with 1 being “Very unsatisfied” and 5 being “Very satisfied”

The questionnaire was translated multiple times back and forth fromVietnamese to English, to ensure functional equivalence of its items in the twolanguages

Questionnaire distribution: The questionnaire was delivered directly to

the students who used cafeteria service at Thuy Loi University in two days whichare the first day and the last day of November in 2018 There are 200questionnaires which are distributed; however, only 187 valid questionnaireswere validly filled in the remaining 13 questionnaires were invalid

Analysis tool: Microsoft Excel and SPSS: Microsoft Excel is an helpful

tool to sort, arrange, and tabulate the collected data; in combination with

specialized software called SPSS 23 that prove useful in analyze the validresponses in the customer survey

Analyzing methods: Both quantitative method and qualitative methods

are used for interpreting and analyzing the primary data specially, quantitativetechniques consist of:

● Descriptive statistics: To describe the basic characteristics of respondents

and to measure the overall customer satisfaction and the satisfaction level

of each factor

● Reliability Cronbach’s Alpha test: According to Hair and Babin (2010),

to determine the reliability and validity of the sample data The scalequalifies if:

○ Cronbach alpha coefficient value is in the range from 0.6 to 0.9

○ Correlation > 0.3

● Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA): According to Hair and Babin

(2010), to determine the correlation between the variables and highlycorrelated variables which are combined and represented by a factor.Conditions for EFA are to meet the following requirements:

○ Coefficient of KMO satisfies > 0.5

○ testing with statistically significant Bartlett: Sig < 0.05

○ Factor loading > 0.3

● Multivariable Regression Model: To examine the impact of factors

affecting customer satisfaction towards cafeteria service at Thuy LoiUniversity

● Descriptive statistics

1.5 Research Scope

Geographical scope: The research is carried out at cafeteria at Thuy Loi

University

Research object: This research focuses on factors which have an impact

on students satisfaction towards cafeteria service at Thuy Loi University

Time scope:

● Secondary Data: From 14th September, 2018 to 4th November, 2018

● Primary Data: From November to December of 2018

1.6 Thesis Structure

 Chapter 1: Introduction

 Chapter 2: Theoretical background on student satisfaction towards

cafeteria services

 Chapter 3: Overview of cafeteria at Thuy Loi university

 Chapter 4: Research results on student satisfaction towards cafeteria

service at Thuy Loi University

 Chapter 5: Recommendation to improve student satisfaction towards

cafeteria service at Thuy Loi University



CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ON STUDENT SATISFACTION

TOWARDS CAFETERIA SERVICES

This chapter will present the theories of food services, cafeteria services,customer satisfaction, some factors affecting student satisfaction as well as theproposed research model of this research Contents are as follows:

2.1 Literature review of food services and cafeteria services

2.1.1 Food services

Institutional food services in Vietnam are now provided in various sectorslike schools, hospital facilities, child and senior care centers, colleges anduniversity dining halls In general, to the best of our knowledge there is littleevidence or absence of literature on university food services in Vietnam.Presently, the interest in institutional food service, mainly in university foodservices, in Vietnam has developed continuously as the number of students isincreasing on campus Currently, institutional food service, particularly inuniversities, is mushrooming as the student population in public and privateuniversities in Vietnam is expanding Thus, it becomes imperative for theuniversities and other higher education institutions to offer the finest food andbeverage products to the staff and students (Li, 2008; Wansink et al, 2010)

According to Zeithaml and Britner (2000) food does not only give energybut also helps the brain by giving it fuel that enhances intelligence So, studentsmust be provided with nutritious food to consume daily in schools in order tomake their brains alert and enables to concentrate better in their studies And bythis, we can expect positive outputs such as an outstanding performance in theirstudies and healthy physical well-being Therefore, providing nutritious foods inuniversities is extremely important With this scenario, food service operationslike school cafeterias were found to be operated in different university campuses

to facilitate the provisions of foods to the students

Students of higher learning institutions at the present days are reallyconcerned and becoming more selective about the food that they consume.Klasses et al (2005) posted that providing appropriate food services in a campussetting is increasingly vital because student have less time to go off-campus Due

to this reason, Zeithaml and Britner (2000) asserted that nowadays universityfood service is expanding by adapting new concepts and moving towards thecommercial food service trend They are suffering more food options andextending their operation hours just to capture the student market

College and university food service operations are complex and diverse,

so handling the on-campus dining food service is very challenging because theclientele live on campus and eat most of their meals at the campus dining facility

If the operators are not creative, the students may quickly become bored with themenu offerings which lack of variety and surroundings of the cafeteria

On reviewing the existing literature, I observed that many factors havebeen found to influence students and staff when choosing a food serviceproperty, such as the quality of food and beverages, quality of service, value,price, hygiene and cleanliness, location, and product variety For the purpose ofthe current study, factors that have been investigated in relation to their impact onconsumer satisfaction are food and beverage quality, food and beverage variety,service quality, the atmospherics of the restaurant and the price-to-valuerelationship It is believed that service quality has a positive effect on customersatisfaction, that is to say improving service quality results in a satisfied customer(Zeithaml and Britner (2000); Lee et al, 2016) But of course, service quality isnot the only variable to consider when explaining customer satisfaction, aspricing also plays a central role in the analysis of customer satisfaction While therelationship between quality and customer satisfaction, price and satisfactionhave been pretty well determined by service marketing researchers, it seems that

no clear links have been established between these two variables for research onsatisfaction But the reality is that quality and price are actually the two most

important factors when customers decide to purchase the service (Xi & Shuai,2009).

2.1.2 Cafeteria service

Service is a special economic good, which is intangible and different fromother tangible goods The researchers have various perspectives about thisconcept This study will introduce some definitions which are cited and used bymany different scholars as follows:

According to Zeithaml and Britner (2000), service is the behavior, processand method how to perform a particular job in order to create value for customers

as well as to satisfy the needs and expectation of customers In a quite similarway, Oliveira (2010) defined service as economic activities that create value andprovide benefits to customers at specific time and specific locations as a result of

a change in desire, or in behalf of service user Besides, according to Kotler &Armstrong (2004), service is seen as activities or benefits that enterprises canoffer to customers in order to establish reinforce and expand the long-termrelationship and cooperation with customers

In general, service can be seen as activities that generate benefits in order

to satisfy the needs of customers Many researchers may have various definitions

of services; however, they have concurred with the service characteristics that areintangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, unstoragability and simultaneity Forthe food services, cafeteria service quality has stood an importance Cafeteriaservice quality is defined as high quality food that is highly varied, convenient,priced fairly, and has excellent taste (Ismail & Abiddin, 2009) Anthony (2000)determined that the components for defining cafeteria services include food

quality, price, and value Cleanliness is another descriptor of cafeteria services

used in other studies (Ismail & Abiddin, 2009; Kim et al, 2012) The quality of acafeteria is mostly about the nature of the food but also includes such aspects aspricing and cleanliness

Food services offered on-campus could potentially influence health, which

in part can play a role in academic performance (Zeithaml and Britner, 2000).One study found that students’ food choice decline in nutritional quality over thecourse of their studies (Wansink et al, 2013) Wansink et al (2013) study did notexplore if there was a corresponding change in the students’ satisfaction withtheir university or if their perception of the cafeteria service declined with theirchoice in food In addition, the study led to the conclusion that serving onlyhealthy food, such as that which is a part of a vegetarian diet, could prevent thisdecline in nutritional quality, as students would only have healthier optionsavailable to them when they eat in the university cafeteria

In another study, it was found that there is little difference in the eatinghabits of students in relation to their academic standing as freshman, sophomore,junior, or senior (Klasses et al, 2005) This indicates that there is a possibility thatstudents with similar eating habits may have similar perceptions of cafeteriaservices as they are having similar experiences concerning the food they areeating

In summary, measuring and comprehending deeply about the quality ofservice that students perceive or experience is essential because it is one of thefoundation aspects for managers to prepare and to be willing to provide muchmore advance and student-focus services In order to achieve this, it isconspicuous to obtain the information about the expectations and feeling of thestudents which is also the main purpose of this essay

2.2 Literature review of student satisfaction towards cafeteria service

2.2.1 Definition of student

A student is a person who is learning something Students can be children,teenagers or adults who are going to school, but it may also be other people whoare learning, such as in college or university A younger student is often called apupil Usually, students will learn from a teacher or a lecturer if at university

They also do much reading A student can also be a person studying for aspecific profession Where the teaching is called "training” the student may becalled a "trainee" (Bransford, 2000)

Students are not only intellectual but also social and emotional beings, andall these dimensions interact to impact learning and performance Students come

to formal education with a range of prior knowledge, skills, beliefs, and conceptsthat significantly influence what they notice about the environment and how theyorganize and interpret it This, in turn, affects their abilities to remember, reason,solve problems, and acquire new knowledge (Brookfield, 2006)

2.2.2 Definition of student satisfaction

The term “customer satisfaction” emerged firstly in the United State ofAmerica since 1970s, and then it is interested by most of other countriesworldwide because of complex construct, many scholars attempted to analyzethis concept and as a result, until now, there have been many definitions ofcustomer’s satisfaction such as:

Anthony (2000) described customer service as an overall post purchaseevaluation or the outcome of customer’s evaluation of a set of experiences linkedwith the specific service provider that is stated by Zeithaml and Britner (2000).Klasses et al (2005) had the same idea, but expressed in different words, heassumed it as a collective outcome of perception, evaluation, and psychologicalreaction to the consumption with a product or service In food service, studentsatisfaction is the combination of both cognitive and emotional response toservice use situation

More recently, Kotler (2000) defined customer satisfaction as “a person’sfeelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a perceivedperformance or outcome in relation to his or her expectation” In other words,customer satisfaction is the measurement of discrepancy between customers’expectations and actual performance If the actual performance matches or

exceeds the customers’ expectations, the customers would satisfy or delighted Incontrast, the customers would feel dissatisfied with the provided performance if itfalls below their expectations In a quite similar way, Klasses et al (2005) alsodefined satisfaction as “an overall attitude towards a product provider or anemotional reaction to the difference between what customers expect and whatthey actually receive regarding the fulfillment of a need” Besides, according toWansink et al (2013), the satisfaction is acknowledged as the response of thecustomers toward the measurement of difference between the early expectationsand the real experience of that product

Along with customer satisfaction in restaurants, the students’ satisfaction

in university cafeterias is also becoming popular and important, as students make

up the majority as users of institutional food services particularly in universityand college dining Students’ satisfaction in university cafeterias completelyrelies upon the quality of food and beverage served at cafeterias, food andbeverage variety and choices and price and value fairness (Nam, 2005; Xi &Shuai, 2009)

In general, the student satisfaction is their feeling that towards the actualperformance after experiencing the service because it provides what theyexpected either below or above their expectation level and there are many factorsaffecting their level of satisfaction From the perspective of stakeholders andexecutives, the extent to which an organization can meet customer expectations(or customer satisfaction), stands for the success and durability of an organization(Wansink et al, 2013) This fact has been the basis for all efforts to assesscustomer satisfaction in the past, with a clear focus on service quality

2.2.3 Role of student satisfaction

While customer satisfactions in foodservice are still being studied today,student satisfaction in university dining is also becoming more popular amongscholars as students are among the big population in institutional food services

especially in university dining (Zeithaml and Britner, 2000; Xi & Shuai, 2009).Even though this field of study has been studied for quite a sometime, howeverfrom year 2000 onwards numbers of researches published in this area kept onincreasing This suggests that customer satisfaction is becoming more importantand it has influenced institutional food service sectors and this matter should not

be neglected

Firstly, in the present day, customer satisfaction has been considered asplaying a crucial role for success and survival in the competitive market.According to Li (2008), customer satisfaction is a key to long-term businesssuccess To protect or gain market share, organizations need to outperformcompetitors by offering high quality product or service to ensure satisfaction ofcustomers Besides, Lee et al (2016) acknowledged satisfaction as an importantindicator of a company’s past, current and future performance in order todetermine retention to the customers

Secondly, the benefits of customer satisfaction has been proved throughvarious researches in terms of lower cost, higher profit, repeat purchases, highermarket share as well as communication of positive message According toKlasses et al (2005), if the customers of an organization are satisfied by theirservices, as a result, they will be loyal to them and consequently be retained bythe organization, which is positive for the organization because it could alsomean higher profits, higher market share, and increasing customer base.Additionally, Zeithaml and Britner (2000) demonstrated the benefits of customersatisfaction that acquiring new customers can cost 5 to 10 times more than thecosts of satisfying and retaining current customers; besides, satisfied customersare likely to recommend your products and services to others Abdullah et al.(2000) has the same opinion when expressing that satisfied customers are morelikely to repeat their experience to buy the products or services In general, interms of cafeteria services, student will be more likely to become the loyal

customers and this will help to maximize revenue growth as well as increase thecustomer base

Thirdly, there is a prevalent phenomenon that satisfied students tell othersabout their experience and many people rely on referrals to choose their foodservice provider because most providers or specially, cafeterias often do notadvertise on the media While satisfied students may make references to a fewnumber of their friends, dissatisfied students could referred to a substantialamount of people about their frustration through social media declining thecomplains of customers by finding out the most prominent one and offer feasiblesolutions to solve it is really necessary to grow customer base of a cafeteria

2.2.4 Factors affecting student satisfaction towards cafeteria service

a Menu variety

The appearance and form of foods have an emotional impact on ourpalates, moods and internal well-being, and due to this food and beverageoperations must encourage flavour by producing a meal that tastes great, ishealthy and looks astonishing “The menu is the number one tool and is thepurest form of a restaurants strategic marketing plan” (McCall & Lynn, 2008).Menus initiate the process for customers to visit restaurants It serves as a firstimpression and can express a lot about the outlet It is common that food andbeverages are studied jointly in research on influences of context on consumerchoice (e.g., Ismail & Abiddin, 2009; Razek et al, 2007) Since food andbeverages are generally consumed together, this is not inappropriate The study

of contextual influences on food and beverage choices – ‘‘why does who eatwhat, when and where?’’ – is of great significance to better comprehend themultifaceted relationship of food choice drivers (Ismail & Abiddin, 2009) It ishighly important that the food service operations have a good variety of choices

in their menus that will give its patrons more options to choose from The goodvariety of food and beverage is a significant factor that drives customer’ssatisfaction In the case of university cafeterias, offering a good variety of food

choices will help to attract the students and the staff to dine in and will stop them

to look for other options at off-campus food service operations

b Food Quality

Quality plays a significant role in determining and influencing customersatisfaction Food quality and acceptability is complex and interdisciplinary,encompassing scientific disciplines including food science and technology,nutrition, psychology, physiology, marketing and hospitality (Tayce et al, 1999).Zeithaml and Britner (2000) revealed that food quality is the qualitycharacteristics of food that are acceptable by the customer This includes externalfactors such as appearance, taste, smell and texture of the food (Tayce et al,1999) The same researcher added, appearance, flavor and texture are importantquality attributes which differentiate raw food materials and processed products.The above study has proven that customer satisfaction with restaurant foodquality is a powerful predictor of customer’s intent to return to a particularrestaurant

c Cleanliness

McCall & Lynn (2008) conducted study to investigate customer attitudetoward food safety issues In the study, they collected 402 data samples andaccording to their study, nearly half (47%) of the consumers responded that theyconsider eating safe very significant Also, 42.6% of the total respondentsbelieved food from a restaurant was the most likely source of foodborne illness.Furthermore, the study indicated that consumers were very concerned aboutinspections of restaurant cleanliness

Cleanliness is a key consideration in meeting the government and stateregulations as well as for meeting the restaurant consumers’ standard ofrestaurant quality Many studies found that cleanliness is a significant factor in acustomers’ evaluation of restaurant quality, which can affect customers’ level ofsatisfaction (Zeithaml and Britner (2000))

Kim et al.(2005) evaluated food safety and sanitation procedures inrelation to customer perceptions of service quality in restaurants using threeitems; dining room cleanliness, restroom cleanliness and food safety According

to their study, unless food safety and cleanliness are obvious to customers, thelink to service quality is not evident Zeithaml and Britner (2000) suggested thatfood service establishments that failed to meet the standards of food hygiene andcleanliness expected by customers, would be assumed as having poor or lowquality service The cleanliness of the restroom was also found to be an importantcriterion when a customer evaluates the overall quality of a foodserviceestablishment (Kotler, 2000)

d Price

Some researchers have found that there is a relationship between price andcustomer satisfaction (Ismail & Abiddin, 2009; Lee et al, 2016) When prices arehigh or low, the level of customer satisfaction will decrease or increaseaccordingly Therefore, if this factor is not taken into account, the customersatisfaction survey will be inaccurate

Ismail & Abiddin (2009) in their article: “Service quality and its impact oncustomers’ behavioural intentions and satisfaction: an empirical study of theIndian life insurance sector stated that "Customer satisfaction is driven byperceived price or value Although the concept of value is relative and hasseveral dimensions to it, Li (2008) considers customers’ value as the overallassessment of the utility of a product based on the perception of what is receivedand what is given The work of McCall & Lynn (2008) confirms that value orprice quality is a positive predictor of satisfaction This is consistent with thefindings of Zeithaml and Britner (2000), who suggested that value had a directand encounters specific input to satisfaction The present study will includeservice quality, technical quality, and price as the determinants of customersatisfaction."

Several studies have been conducted by many researchers who arguedabout price and value that will lead to customer satisfaction Soriano (2003)posited that the price to be paid for a service determines the level of quality to bedemanded It shows that, customers have raised their expectations with regard toquality and good service, while seeking a better value for their money.Furthermore, recent researches by Zeithaml and Britner (2000) and Chang et al.(2014) did consider price and value in their study in assessing student satisfaction

of dining hall services

e Ambient

Cafeteria ambiance is determined by the spatial arrangement of theseating, quality of the interior design, and the suitability of the backgroundmusic, which are important contributors to the high satisfaction of diners (Ismail

& Abiddin, 2009) Moreover, food packaging, plate size and design, lighting anddining companions at the cafeteria influence the individual’s immediate setting.The design of the cafeteria environment influences the consumer’s food choicesand eating behaviors which call the personal food environments to promotewellness, combat obesity and complement interventions at higher levels (Xi &Shuai, 2009; Kim et al, 2012) Further, the physical setting influences customers’perceptions of service quality (Razek et al, 2007; Anshul & Jeetesh, 2017) Priorresearch by Wansink et al (2010) found that there are relationships between foodinformation, food quality, eating behavior, eating environments, and fooddistribution environments

f Staff performance

Service is given by the staff in the service setting to the consumer (McCall

& Lynn, 2008) Good services by the staff will give great experiences to thecustomer Klasses et al (2005) indicate that good manner of staff has a greatestinfluence regarding customer expectation and restaurant selection Besides that,service quality is positively linked to customer satisfaction and return patronage(Wansink et al, 2013) According to Li (2008), internal organization is used often

by employees to communicate effectively with the customer External sourcesinclude the impersonal communications such as advertisements and promotions.

An excellent means for customers to achieve quality is through communicationbetween service provider and receiver As stated by Kotler (2000) to meetcustomer satisfaction, food will be artistically presented, served perfectly and thedining environment will be consummately welcoming

Friendliness of staff and sincerity in service makes a difference in servicequality Zeithaml and Britner (2000) suggested that attitude of staff members cansignificantly improve or worsen the dining experience for customers According

to Oliveira (2010) although customer satisfaction was most depends on foodquality, attitude of staff who delivered the menus was a significant dimensionpredicting customer’s satisfaction with foodservice Service delivery by the staffcafé house is one of the important antecedents that influence student satisfaction

on the university café service delivery

Table 2.1: Summarize of customer satisfaction research models

Anoempiricalostudyoof TemptationoRestaurant

atoTaylor’soUniversity, Malaysia

- Foodoandbeverage variety

- Foodoand beverage quality

- Menu variety

2014 Chang et al Student satisfaction with the

service quality of cafeteria : A structure approach

- Food quality

- Staff performance

- Price

- Ambient

2015 Ibrahim et al Customer satisfaction on

facilities and services provided

by the canteen of Faculty of Medical Sciences, University ofSri Jayewardenepura

2000 Anthony University food services:

Student dining expectations, needs and wants versus what is actually received in a mid-size university

- Employee skills

- Menu variety

- Food quality

- Customer service

2.3 Proposed research framework

From the variables listed in the table above, I have selected the variableswith the most research frequency and most reasonable with the assessment ofTLU students' satisfaction with the cafeteria to produce the research model asfollows:

Figure 2.1 Research model

Source: Anshul & Jeetesh (2017); Chang et al (2014)The research framework expresses the independent variables, whichinclude Menu variety, Food quality, Cleanliness, Price, Ambience, Staffperformance, and the dependent variable as student satisfaction when have meals

at TLU’s cafeteria Therefore, this research has an objective of testing thehypothesis that whether the above-mentioned independent variables have apositive effect on student satisfaction or not

According research model, the factors affecting the quality of cafeteriaservices are shown clearly and fully below:

a Menu variety

According to McCall & Lynn (2008) “The menu is the number one tooland is the purest form of a restaurants strategic marketing plan” When studentsmake a decision to have their meal at the cafeteria, students concern with thefood as well as beverage there that they are suitable with students’ taste or not In

this research, all attributes used to measure the impact of Menu variety are shown

as the table below:

Table 2.2 Measurement of Menu variety used in the research

Menu variety 1 Menu is changed everyday (MV1)

2 There are many kind of food tochoose (MV2)

3 There are many kind of dessert tochoose (MV3)

4 There are many kind of beverage tochoose (MV4)

Anthony Reale (2000)

If the cafeteria has many kind of food and drink, students will have manychoices when experiencing at the cafeteria When students think that this daythey can choose this kind of food to eat and on another day they will chooseother dishes to eat, they will not get bored with the menu Therefore, a menuvariety can create students’ loyalty and then enhance student satisfaction towardscafeteria service at Thuy Loi University Therefore, a hypothesis is formed asbelow:

Hypothesis 1: Menu variety affects positively to student satisfaction

b Food quality

Anshul & Jeetesh (2017) claimed that “Food quality plays a vital role indetermining and forming students’ satisfaction Quality attributes of food such astaste, smell, freshness, appearance, size, shape, colour, gloss, consistency, andtexture play a higher role in accomplishing or surpassing customer satisfactionand expectation to return.” In food service businesses, the food products chosenfor display and sale by caterers are selected for their colour and appearanceattributes These attributes help to draw student attention and later impact thedecision on whether or not to buy Colour and other appearance features generatecustomers’ first impression in a food service business In shaping customers’satisfaction, it is imperative for the food service administrators to profoundlycomprehend their necessities and requests, particularly in institutional food

service industry, for example, in university dining In this research, all attributesused to measure the impact of Food quality are shown as the table below:

Table 2.3 Measurement of Food quality used in the research

Food quality 1 Food presentation catches your eyes

(FQ1)

2 TLU’s cafeteria serves food at theappropriate temperature (FQ2)

3 Food has delicious flavour (FQ3)

4 The quality of food is fresh (FQ4)

Anthony (2000)

Consequently, it can be hypothesized as:

Hypothesis 2: Food quality affects positively to student satisfaction

c Cleanliness

As defined by Xia et al (2004) “The perceptions of price refer toconsumers‟ overall assessments of whether the offered price of a product orservice of a seller is really reasonable, can be accepted or justified.” For studentswho often have to eat out, if the cleanliness at the cafeteria is not ensured, it isdifficult for them to have a good feeling when eating there Every students wouldwant to trust a cafeteria that has passed health and sanitation standards, sokeeping the cafeteria dining and kitchen areas is a big part of the success of thecafeteria to make students feel satisfied with cafeteria service In this research, allattributes used to measure the impact of Cleanliness are shown as the tablebelow:

Table 2.4 Measurement of Cleanliness used in the research

Cleanliness 1 There are enough trash bins (CL1)

2 Food preparation area is always clean(CL2)

3 Floor is probably clean (CL3)

4 Table and provided plates, cups andspoons are clean (CL4)

Wansink et al (2013)

Consequently, it can be hypothesized as:

Hypothesis 3: Cleanliness affects positively to student satisfaction

d Price

Bolton and Lemon (1999) defined “Price is the perceived fairness of theprice or usage trade-off Usually the lower the perceived price, the lower theperceived sacrifice and the customer will view the price is fair” If the costs ofthe food and beverages are too high for students in the university or collegecampus, the students will choose to buy food and beverages from less expensiveoff-campus food service operations Receiving the right value for money paid isamongst the most imperative variables that urge the students to return to a foodservice operation, resulting in student satisfaction In this research, all attributesused to measure the impact of Price are shown as the table below:

Table 2.5 Measurement of Price used in the research

Price 1 The price of food is appropriate for its

4 Food prices are reasonable compared

to off-campus food outlets (PF4)

Abel et al.(2015)

Consequently, it can be hypothesized as:

Hypothesis 4: Price affects positively to student satisfaction

e Ambiance

Ismail & Abiddin (2009) stated that “Cafeteria ambiance is determined bythe spatial arrangement of the seating, quality of the interior design, and thesuitability of the background music, which are important contributors to the highsatisfaction of diners.” Besides, food packing, portion size, and arrangementlighting at the cafeteria impact the individual’s prompt setting Additionally, thephysical setting impacts customers’ view of service quality There areconnections between food information, food quality, eating behaviour, diningsituations and food distribution settings The ambiance is an intangiblecomponent made up of everything related to the brand that will yield animpression towards the specific location In this research, all attributes used tomeasure the impact of Ambient are shown as the table below:

Table 2.6 Measurement of Ambient used in the research

Ambient 1 Fans and lights are in optimal

working conditions (AM1)

2 TLU’s cafeteria has suitablebackground music (AM2)

3 Condition of the seats and tables aresatisfying (AM3)

4 TLU’s cafeteria has suitabletemperature for dining experience(AM4)

5 Numbers of food serving counters areadequate (AM5)

Wansink et al.(2013)

Consequently, it can be hypothesized as:

Hypothesis 5: Ambient affects positively to student satisfaction

Table 2.7 Measurement of Staff performance used in the research

3 Staff is knowledgeable about themenu (SP3)

4 The costumes of the staff areprofessional and courtesy (SP4)

5 Staff is capable of handling problemsand complaints (SP5)

Abel et al.(2015)

Consequently, it can be hypothesized as:

Hypothesis 6: Staff performance affects positively to student satisfaction

CHAPTER 3 OVERVIEW OF CAFETERIA AT THUY LOI UNIVERSITY

3.1 Overview of Song Thai Company

3.1.1 Development of Song Thai Company

Song Thai Company was established in 2012 at Trung Gia, Soc Son,Hanoi with the transaction name is Song Thai Trading services Co., Ltd.Founded in 2012 at Trung Gia, Soc Son, Ha Noi, Song Thai Company is one ofthe biggest and the most prestigious companies in food service of Hanoi ingeneral and Soc Son District in particular The business line of Song ThaiCompany is Services - Trading and the capital at formulating time was100.000.000.000 VND (One hundred billion dongs)

Over 7 years of development, Song Thai Company has developed strongly

as a result of the directors’ passion as well as all employees are contributing.From a small company with 70 employees in the early days of establishment,

now the total employees are over 250 (excluding short-term employees) With 2

offices (one in Ha Noi and one in Thai Nguyen), at present, customers of SongThai Company spread many cities in the north of Vietnam such as Ha Noi, HungYen, Thai Nguyen, Vinh Phuc,etc

Since its establishment, Song Thai Company has grown steadily andbecome a prestigious company in the field of food service in Hanoi and somenearby cities Within the coming years, Song Thai Company will focus onimproving quality, creating more value for customers that already used, are usingand will use Song Thai’s services in the future