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Marketing Research 4380.

020
Dr. Kay Byun

Does Gender Affect Casual Dining


Choices and Experiences?

Madison Bolton
Michal Hicks
Yansy Perez
Esmeralda Reyes
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 2
Purpose and Background 2
Survey Research Design 2
Sample Description 3
Variable Measurement and Description 4
Data analysis and Results 10
Managerial Implications 13
Conclusion 14
Reflection 14
References 15
Appendix: Survey Questionnaires 15

1
Executive Summary
The purpose of this survey was to investigate the consumer decision-making process
when choosing a restaurant. It investigates consumer psychology and behavior related to
restaurant experiences. The survey also explores which factors consumers enjoy or dislike
when attending a restaurant. An exploratory research design using convenience sampling
was utilized to complete the survey. Key findings in the results suggest both male and
female consumers rely on word-of-mouth restaurant reviews before dining out, male
consumers value entertainment as part of their experience more than women, and
women are more susceptible to writing a positive review. These results can help managers
in their marketing techniques by targeting the most appropriate consumers for their
restaurants. Nonetheless, for all consumers the most important aspect they looked for in
the restaurant experience was good food and service.

Purpose and Background


Recently, there has been an increasing number of people preferring to dine out rather
than stay home. Thus, we decided we wanted to know what specific factors affect people's
decision making when choosing a restaurant along with which factors would make a
customer visit the restaurant again or not. Specifically, by looking at the gender
differences in the decision-making, the research can provide meaningful managerial
implications to restaurant owners and marketers.

Survey Research Design


This survey was an exploratory research that investigates what kinds of factors influence a
customer's decision when choosing a casual dining restaurant and whether or not those
factors are influenced by gender. To investigate the consumer decision making process, a
self-administered online survey using Qualtrics was conducted. A convenience sampling
method was used in order to collect data in a short time frame. A link to the survey was
shared through each team member's social media account (Facebook). The link was also
shared via email to personal contacts. There were no incentives to complete the survey;
only a courteous request was offered. The survey was open for 2 weeks.

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Sample Description
We had a total sample size of 155. However, after filtering out incomplete responses the
total usable sample size was reduced to 116. The sample size was compromised o 85
females (73%) and 31 (27%) males as shown in Figure 1.

Gender

27%

Male
Female

73%

Figure 1.

The largest age group from the sample size was 18-24 followed by 25-35. The two groups
together accounted for more than half of the total sample size as shown in Figure 2.

1%
Age
3% 1%
0% under 18
18-24
9%
25-34
35% 35-44
19%
45-54
55-64
9% 65-74

23% 75-84
85 or older

Figure 2.

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In order to assess the essentiality of responses, we asked the filter question How often do
you eat out (during a one month period)? The results are shown in Figure 3. Each
category was almost evenly divided by the three answer choices.

How Often do You Dine Out (Monthly)?


50

40

30

20

10

0
Total Monthly Dine Out Times

1 to 3 4 to 5 6 or More

Figure 3.

Variable Measurement and Description


The majority our survey questions were asked in a 5-point Likert scale measurement. We
also had some nominal, ranking and scale measurement types. The means, standard
deviation, and maximum and minimum of each question can be found in Table 1.
Observe that consumers considered food quality the most crucial factor (mean = 41.3%)
followed by service (mean =16.72%). Table 2 shows the means, standard deviation and
standard error with male and female statistics separated.

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics

N Minimum Maximum Mean Std.


Deviation

How many times a month do you eat out? (Casual Dining) 116 2 4 3.01 .818

What is your age? 116 1 8 3.53 1.569

Apply the appropriate percentages to the following factors depending on 116 0 90 41.34 19.486
importance (totaling to 1...-Food Quality

Apply the appropriate percentages to the following factors depending on 116 0 50 16.72 8.857
importance (totaling to 1...-Service

Apply the appropriate percentages to the following factors depending on 115 0 45 7.62 7.328
importance (totaling to 1...-Atmosphere

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Apply the appropriate percentages to the following factors depending on 114 0 30 3.46 5.104
importance (totaling to 1...-Entertainment

Apply the appropriate percentages to the following factors depending on 115 0 50 12.15 8.820
importance (totaling to 1...-Food Selection

Apply the appropriate percentages to the following factors depending on 115 0 100 19.12 14.793
importance (totaling to 1...-Price

How likely are you to return to a restaurant if..-You had bad service 116 1 5 2.65 1.081

How likely are you to return to a restaurant if..-You didn't like the food 116 1 5 1.68 .974

How likely are you to return to a restaurant if..-Staff made you feel uncomfortable 116 1 5 1.97 .950

How likely are you to return to a restaurant if..-You found something in your food 116 1 5 1.83 .989
(hair, plastic, etc...)

How likely are you to return to a restaurant if..-The restaurant looked dirty or you 116 1 5 1.41 .895
got sick

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Texas Roadhouse 116 1 5 1.78 1.231

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Texas Roadhouse-Food 79 1 1 1.00 .000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Texas Roadhouse-Customer 28 1 1 1.00 .000
Service

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Texas Roadhouse-Ambience 21 1 1 1.00 .000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Texas Roadhouse-Location 13 1 1 1.00 .000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Olive Garden 116 1 5 1.91 1.063

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Olive Garden-Food 80 1 1 1.00 .000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Olive Garden-Customer 30 1 1 1.00 .000
Service

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Olive Garden-Ambience 20 1 1 1.00 .000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Olive Garden-Location 11 1 1 1.00 .000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-On The Border 116 1 5 2.47 1.247

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-On The Border-Food 66 1 1 1.00 .000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-On The Border-Customer 16 1 1 1.00 .000
Service

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-On The Border-Ambience 13 1 1 1.00 .000

5
How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-On The Border-Location 20 1 1 1.00 .000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Other 116 1 5 1.65 1.174

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Other-Food 74 1 1 1.00 .000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Other-Customer Service 33 1 1 1.00 .000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Other-Ambience 21 1 1 1.00 .000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Other-Location 28 1 1 1.00 .000

How likely are you to look at online reviews when choosing a restaurant? 116 1 5 3.77 1.240

If online reviews were good but a friend told you the restaurant was not good, 116 1 5 3.22 .800
would you still go?

What percentage of good vs bad review online will convince you to go to a 116 10 100 71.92 15.323
restaurant?-Good Reviews

What percentage of good vs bad review online will convince you to go to a 116 0 90 28.08 15.323
restaurant?-Bad Reviews

How likely would you write an online review if you...-Had Bad Service 116 1 5 2.95 1.264

How likely would you write an online review if you...-Had Bad Food 116 1 5 3.09 1.402

How likely would you write an online review if you...-Food made you sick 116 1 5 3.39 1.479

How likely would you write an online review if you...-Restaurant was unsanitary 116 1 5 3.39 1.508

How likely would you write an online review if you...-You Really liked the Food 116 1 5 3.35 1.410

How likely would you write an online review if you...-Had really Good Service 116 1 5 3.21 1.417

Table 2. Group Statistics

Gender N Mean Std. Std. Error


Deviation Mean

How many times a month do you eat out? (Casual Dining) Male 31 3.00 0.775 0.139

Female 85 3.01 0.838 0.091

What is your age? Male 31 2.90 1.193 0.214

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Female 85 3.75 1.632 0.177

Apply the appropriate percentages to the following factors depending Male 31 39.84 21.698 3.897
on importance (totaling to 1...-Food Quality

Female 85 41.88 18.724 2.031

Apply the appropriate percentages to the following factors depending Male 31 14.35 10.226 1.837
on importance (totaling to 1...-Service

Female 85 17.58 8.200 0.889

Apply the appropriate percentages to the following factors depending Male 31 8.87 9.636 1.731
on importance (totaling to 1...-Atmosphere

Female 84 7.15 6.276 0.685

Apply the appropriate percentages to the following factors depending Male 31 5.32 6.575 1.181
on importance (totaling to 1...-Entertainment

Female 83 2.76 4.276 0.469

Apply the appropriate percentages to the following factors depending Male 31 12.10 9.555 1.716
on importance (totaling to 1...-Food Selection

Female 84 12.17 8.594 0.938

Apply the appropriate percentages to the following factors depending Male 31 19.52 17.193 3.088
on importance (totaling to 1...-Price

Female 84 18.98 13.915 1.518

How likely are you to return to a restaurant if..-You had bad service Male 31 2.42 1.025 0.184

Female 85 2.73 1.095 0.119

How likely are you to return to a restaurant if..-You didn't like the Male 31 1.84 1.068 0.192
food

Female 85 1.62 0.938 0.102

How likely are you to return to a restaurant if..-Staff made you feel Male 31 2.10 1.044 0.188
uncomfortable

Female 85 1.92 0.916 0.099

How likely are you to return to a restaurant if..-You found something Male 31 1.84 1.068 0.192
in your food (hair, plastic, etc...)

Female 85 1.82 0.966 0.105

How likely are you to return to a restaurant if..-The restaurant looked Male 31 1.58 1.148 0.206
dirty or you got sick

Female 85 1.35 0.782 0.085

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How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Texas Male 31 1.71 1.160 0.208
Roadhouse

Female 85 1.80 1.261 0.137

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Texas Male 21 1.00 0.000 0.000
Roadhouse-Food

Female 58 1.00 0.000 0.000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Texas Male 6 1.00 0.000 0.000
Roadhouse-Customer Service

Female 22 1.00 0.000 0.000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Texas Male 3 1.00 0.000 0.000
Roadhouse-Ambience

Female 18 1.00 0.000 0.000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Texas Male 3 1.00 0.000 0.000
Roadhouse-Location

Female 10 1.00 0.000 0.000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Olive Garden Male 31 2.06 1.237 0.222

Female 85 1.85 0.994 0.108

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Olive Garden- Male 21 1.00 0.000 0.000
Food

Female 59 1.00 0.000 0.000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Olive Garden- Male 6 1.00 0.000 0.000
Customer Service

Female 24 1.00 0.000 0.000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Olive Garden- Male 4 1.00 0.000 0.000
Ambience

Female 16 1.00 0.000 0.000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Olive Garden- Male 2 1.00 0.000 0.000
Location

Female 9 1.00 0.000 0.000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-On The Border Male 31 2.71 1.296 0.233

Female 85 2.38 1.225 0.133

Male 16 1.00 0.000 0.000

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How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-On The Border- Female 50 1.00 0.000 0.000
Food

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-On The Border- Male 2 1.00 0.000 0.000
Customer Service

Female 14 1.00 0.000 0.000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-On The Border- Male 3 1.00 0.000 0.000
Ambience

Female 10 1.00 0.000 0.000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-On The Border- Male 3 1.00 0.000 0.000
Location

Female 17 1.00 0.000 0.000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Other Male 31 1.97 1.494 0.268

Female 85 1.53 1.019 0.110

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Other-Food Male 21 1.00 0.000 0.000

Female 53 1.00 0.000 0.000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Other- Male 7 1.00 0.000 0.000
Customer Service

Female 26 1.00 0.000 0.000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Other- Male 8 1.00 0.000 0.000
Ambience

Female 13 1.00 0.000 0.000

How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?-Other-Location Male 8 1.00 0.000 0.000

Female 20 1.00 0.000 0.000

If online reviews were good but a friend told you the restaurant was Male 31 3.42 0.807 0.145
not good, would you still go?

Female 85 3.14 0.789 0.086

What percentage of good vs bad review online will convince you to go Male 31 69.61 17.841 3.204
to a restaurant?-Good Reviews

Female 85 72.76 14.320 1.553

What percentage of good vs bad review online will convince you to go Male 31 30.39 17.841 3.204
to a restaurant?-Bad Reviews

Female 85 27.24 14.320 1.553

9
How likely would you write an online review if you...-Had Bad Service Male 31 2.74 1.527 0.274

Female 85 3.02 1.154 0.125

How likely would you write an online review if you...-Had Bad Food Male 31 2.68 1.558 0.280

Female 85 3.25 1.318 0.143

How likely would you write an online review if you...-Food made you Male 31 3.00 1.693 0.304
sick

Female 85 3.53 1.377 0.149

How likely would you write an online review if you...-Restaurant was Male 31 3.06 1.711 0.307
unsanitary

Female 85 3.51 1.419 0.154

How likely would you write an online review if you...-You Really liked Male 31 2.71 1.488 0.267
the Food

Female 85 3.59 1.312 0.142

How likely would you write an online review if you...-Had really Good Male 31 2.55 1.362 0.245
Service

Female 85 3.45 1.367 0.148

Data Analysis and Results


After the collection of data was obtained, it was analyzed with SPSS and Microsoft Excel
in order to understand the customer decision factors when choosing a restaurant.
We investigated gender difference in casual dining consumers experiences and
preference. We conducted cross-tabulation 2 test for nominal and ranking questions,
and an independent sample t-test for Likert and scale items.

Choosing a New Restaurant


The data shows most male and female consumers ask friends or family for suggestions
when choosing a new restaurant (see Figure 4). This is evident with about 56.9% of our
participants selecting that response far ahead of the other options.
Consumers reliance on their friends and family is also evident in the question I rely more
on word of mouth than on online reviews with 79.3% of the consumers selecting true
(see Figure 5).

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Figure 4. Figure 5.

Service
When it comes to service, most consumers chose friendliness as the most important
quality they look for in a server. This quality was selected as the first (out of 6) most
important aspect 43.1% of the time. We can see from Figure 6. that the data is skewed
right, suggesting that friendliness, although was not chosen first all the time, it was
considered as one of the top qualities.

Another interesting trend came when participants were asked about the importance of
eye contact. This quality was selected as one of the least important qualities of a waiter,
with 54.3% of the consumers selecting it as the least important. In contrast to
friendliness, shown in Figure 7, the graph of this data is skewed left.
Figure 6. Figure 7.

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It appears as though all consumers male and female agree on what the top qualities are in
a server, except when it comes to how often a waiter checks the table. The cross
tabulation chi-square test results (see Figure 8) shows there is a significant difference in
how male and female consumers ranked this quality (2=14.16, p = .015 < .05). The graph
(see Figure 9) for the female responses show a bell curve relation between the ratings
centered at 3. This suggest that this quality was ranked third more than it was ranked in
any other position. However, the graph for the men was more uniform, but the men
ranked it in fifth more frequently. This shows that women value how often a waiter visits
the table more than men.

Figure 8. Figure 9.

Online Reviews
The data implies that the female consumers are more likely to write online reviews.
However, most of this data only shows a marginal difference between men and women,
with the exception being when it comes to good reviews. Data suggest that women are
more likely to write a good review compared to men.
When asked how likely there were to write a review if they liked the food, the t-test
results show there was a significant difference between men and women with the means
measured on the 5-point Likert scale (p = .003; Mean_male = 2.71; Mean_female = 3.59).
Similarly, when asked how likely there were to write a review if they had good service, the
t-test showed there was a significant difference between men and women (p = .003;
Mean_male = 2.55; Mean_female = 3.45).

Overall Restaurant Qualities


As we can see from Table 1 above, the most important quality in a restaurant for all
consumers is food quality, with ranked at a mean of 41.34% followed by price with a mean
of 19.12%. Service is then the third most important quality with a mean of 16.72%,

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however a t-test suggested that there was a marginal difference of how women ranked
service versus how men ranked service. (p = .083; Mean_male=14.35, Mean_female=17.58)

When participants were asked how likely they would go back to the restaurant if the
service was bad, the mean of the responses on the 5-point Likert scale was 2.65, which is
the highest compared to the other question of the same type. This means that consumers
are more likely to return to a restaurant if they had bad service than if they didnt like the
food.

Independent sample t-test results show the entertainment factor of a restaurant


influences male and female consumers differently. Male consumers seem to value
entertainment more compared to female (p=.016; Mean_male=5.32, Mean_female=2.76).

Managerial Implications
This research can help managers improve their restaurant by showing them key factors
their target market enjoys. By enhancing or adding a specific quality, managers can
attract their target market and thus increase their revenue. We also researched what
consumers liked about the service and what the restaurant must do to get a good review.
Specific suggestions were concluded for our findings.

Even Mix of Male and Female Factors:


Restaurant managers can use this research to find out specific factors that male and
female consumers like. From our research, specifically, we see that the most important
factor (after food and price) when choosing a restaurant for a male is entertainment and
service for females. Therefore, it can be interpreted that restaurants who primarily target
male consumers should have enhanced entertainment services. Unfortunately, the results
cannot show what specific entertainment services attract males the most (i.e. music, more
server interaction apart from the regular service). Restaurants who are geared more
toward targeting women should remain consistent in providing excellent customer
service. When targeting both genders, a restaurant should measure out equal attributes
to keep both types of consumers coming back.

Good & Quality Service:


From this research, restaurant managers can see that service quality is a very important
factor to consumers. Using this research, the managers can train the staff to fit the
qualities that people like most in a server. Good customer service is subjective, therefore,
having evidence to show what qualities are deemed good then servers can be trained
uniformly. This can apply to currently employed and newly hired servers.

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Online Review Promotion:
Restaurant managers can use this research to help improve their online reviews. This
research indicates, females are more prone to write online reviews. To increase reviews,
managers can promote it more towards female consumers. But specific marketing
techniques should be used towards males because they are not prone to writing reviews.
An equal number of both male and female reviews is necessary to obtain both views on
concerns or positive qualities of a restaurant.

Conclusion
The purpose of this research survey was to identify which factors bring consumers into a
restaurant. We specifically looked at the difference between the males and females, but
our results indicated there is no significant difference in the opinions of the males vs.
females when choosing a restaurant. But there were still key findings which included:
both male and female consumers rely on word-of-mouth restaurant reviews before dining
out, male consumers value entertainment as part of their experience more than women,
and women are more susceptible to writing a positive review. From these results, specific
managerial implications were suggested to enhance restaurant potential.

Reflections
Madison: Through this survey project I have learned how to turn my survey results into
data that I can use to make changes to something specific (like a restaurant) or make
something better. It helped me understand how useful this will be for companies that are
consumer based.

Michael: From this project, I was able to understand just how important and useful
gathering data and information about a subject is. Running and operating a business
involves much more than what is seen on the surface. By using surveys in the form of
Qualtrics one is able to ascertain this information in a much more timely and coherent
manner. All the while figuring out what works and what doesn't work for your business.

Yansy: This survey project has taught me how to use Qualtrics to create a survey and
analyze the results. I have also learned how to interpret the data and make conclusions
based on the data. I have also, specifically, learned from this survey project that women
are more likely to leave online reviews, and I found that interesting.

Esmeralda: From this project, I have learned how to create a survey using Qualtrics and
how to analyze and interpret the data. I also learned not to make conclusions before

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interpreting the data. Some of the differences between male and female turned out
opposite as to what I initially thought to be.

References
No references were used in the completion of this survey. Data was collected first-hand
and conclusions were derived from it.

Appendix: Survey Questionnaire


Introduction: Thank you for participating in the survey. This survey is to understand consumer
psychology and behavior related to restaurant experiences. It is part of a class activity for
marketing students at The University of Texas at Tyler. All information collected in this survey
will be confidential and used only for learning purposes. Your candid answer will help us learn
and better understand the consumers. Any questions regarding to this survey can be addressed to
Dr. Byun at kbyun@uttyler.edu.

How many times a month do you eat out? (Casual Dining)

0 (1)
1-3 (2)
4-5 (3)
6 or more (4)
Condition: 0 Is Selected. Skip To: End of Survey.
What is your gender?

Male (1)
Female (2)
What is your age?

under 18 (1)
18 - 24 (2)
25 - 34 (3)
35 - 44 (4)
45 - 54 (5)
55 - 64 (6)
65 - 74 (7)
75 - 84 (8)
85 or older (9)

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Apply the appropriate percentages to the following factors depending on importance (totaling to
100%):

______ Food Quality (1)


______ Service (2)
______ Atmosphere (3)
______ Entertainment (4)
______ Food Selection (5)
______ Price (6)
How likely are you to return to a restaurant if..
Neither likely
Extremely Somewhat Somewhat Extremely
nor unlikely
likely (5) likely (4) unlikely (2) unlikely (1)
(3)
You had bad
service (Bad
Service)
You didn't like
the food

(Didn't like
food)
Staff made you
feel
uncomfortable

(Staff made you
feel
uncomfortable)
You found
something in
your food (hair,
plastic, etc...)
(You found
something in
your food)
The restaurant
looked dirty or
you got sick
(Restaurant
looked dirty)

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How likely are you to eat at the following restaurants?

Somewhat Somewhat Customer


Restaurants Sad Neutral Happy Food Ambience Location
Sad Happy Service
Texas
Customer
Roadhouse Food Ambience Location
Service
(1)
Olive Customer
Food Ambience Location
Garden (2) Service
On The Customer
Food Ambience Location
Border (3) Service
Customer
Other (4) Food Ambience Location
Service

Rank the service qualities from most important to least important

______ Friendly (1)


______ Helpful (2)
______ Checks on table often (3)
______ Makes eye contact (4)
______ Wait time for sitting (5)
______ Wait time for food (6)

When choosing a new restaurant, you...

Ask your family/friends for a suggestion (1)


Look online for which restaurant has the best ratings (2)
Just pick a random place (3)
Other (4) ____________________
How likely are you to look at online reviews when choosing a restaurant?

Extremely likely (5)


Somewhat likely (4)
Neither likely nor unlikely (3)
Somewhat unlikely (2)
Extremely unlikely (1)
I rely more on word of mouth than on online reviews.

True (1)
False (2)

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If online reviews were good but a friend told you the restaurant was not good, would you still go?

Definitely yes (5)


Probably yes (4)
Might or might not (3)
Probably not (2)
Definitely not (1)
What percentage of good vs bad review online will convince you to go to a restaurant?

______ Good Reviews (1)


______ Bad Reviews (2)
How likely would you write an online review if you...

Neither likely
Extremely Somewhat Somewhat Extremely
nor unlikely
likely (5) likely (4) unlikely (2) unlikely (1)
(3)
Had Bad
Service (Bad
Service)
Had Bad Food

(Bad Food)
Food made you
sick (Food
made you sick)
Restaurant was
unsanitary
(Unsanitary)
You Really
liked the Food
(liked food)
Had really
Good Service
(Good Service)

Thank you for your participation.

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