International Cuisine Food Services

and Customer Satisfaction

A Practical Research II Project

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements in Practical Research II

Proponents:

Lou Christine S. Gatoc

Krishia Ladisa

Lyle Dan L. Mangubat

Wisdom C. Morales

Sherlyn Noland
CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The Problem and Its Setting

International cuisines have been popping in and out in different places. Filipinos

are progressively knowledgeable and are always on the go, and therefore, more

Filipinos are mindful of various patterns and are extremely enthusiastic about

investigating and taking a stab at something new all the time. This is the reason why

global establishments keep on emerging in the Philippines. Filipino millennial as of now

includes 33% of the nation's populace and they are known to be the greatest spenders.

Customers can get good food and decent customer service almost anywhere.

The product and the quality of service must score in order to have the best dining

experience for the customers. Diners benefit has numerous layers, and it is simple for

pioneers to get diverted by the operational aspects and to overlook the principal benefit

that is

In the Philippines, dining in these international cuisine businesses may not be the

interest of some of the populace, it has however attracted teenagers, millennial minded

persons and food enthusiasts alike. As Filipinos continue to explore the world, there is

also a demand in new flavors apart from the local or common Japanese and other

cuisines. (Oritguero, 2018)

Locally, the city of Digos has an apparent increase in international cuisine

restaurant business with Korean, Japanese and Chinese ones fronting the scene. The

food culture is found to be influenced by globalizing forces yet these do not always
overwhelm local distinctions such was what we are used to even today. (Henderson,

2014) Even so the city has been a common start up location for these businesses with

notable ones namely: Mandarin Tea Garden, Jinbin Korean Grill and Mama’s Noodle

House, Takashi Japanese Restaurant and Tomodachi Japanese Restaurant.

Identification of the ways that customers are satisfied with the international

cuisine food services has been the main source of motivation for conducting the study.

Thus, concluding that the main objective of the study is to identify how and why the

customers of international cuisines are satisfied in the food services of the different

businesses. However, the essence of the study is not to find out directly why the

customers preferred one to the other.

Statement of the problem

International Company found Digos city as a good place for business due to its

growing population and larger consumption of foods. However, they face an

unprecedented challenge especially in coping their costumer’s satisfaction about newly

introduced dishes from different countries. This study aimed to determine the

international cuisine’s food services and its routes to market their product in Digos City.

Specifically, it aimed to answer the following questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of the costumer in terms of:

1.1 Age;

1.2 Sex;

1.3 Economic Status?

2. What quality of international cuisine food services is rendered to the costumer in
terms of?

2.1 Service Personnel;

2.2 Speed of service;

2.3 Food quality;

2.4 Ambience;

2.5 Price?

3. Are the Costumers satisfied with the international cuisine food services in terms of:

3.1 Service Personnel;

3.2 Speed of service;

3.3 Food quality;

3.4 Ambience;

3.5 Price?

4. Is there a significant difference on costumers’ satisfaction on international cuisine

food services when analyzed by:

4.1 Age;

4.2 Sex;

4.3 Economic Status?

5. Is there a significant relationship between international cuisine food services and

customer’s satisfaction

Hypothesis

This study uses the null hypothesis which tested at alpha 0.05 level of

significance.

Ho1: There is no significant difference on customer’s satisfaction on international

cuisine food when the respondents are analyzed by their demographic profile.

Ho2: There is no significant relationship between international cuisine food

services and the costumer’s satisfaction.

Significance of the Study

The main purpose of the study is to determine the customer’s satisfaction on

international cuisine and its quality of service in Digos City and it will benefit to the

following:

Local International Cuisine Owners. The study can greatly benefit the

international lineage of food through endorsements and recommendations to the local

community despite having cultural differences between the local and international. With

the applicable ability and strategies on food servicing, it quite deserves some

recognition in the locality.

Local community. The international cuisine's business will be known here in the

locality of Digos and can also provide benefit to the economy and the community for us

to experience the different kinds of services from the international scene.

Customer. People whom partake in the services provided by these international

based restaurants can be of help through the reading of the study and a link on which a

restaurant or a quality of service can fulfill a customer’s needs thus attaining

satisfaction.

Future Researchers. The study conducted by the researchers can be of

guidance or basis for future researchers on the improvement of their own study. Flaws

of the present study will be avoided thus enhancement is inevitable as time passes by.

If there is future research endeavors inclined in this study then the study will be of

significant help.

Definition of terms

The following phrases are defined for the better understanding of the study..

International cuisine. It refers to meals that incorporate the elements of the

culture within the country. It is the prepared dishes by international food services

company in Digos City.

Food services. The definition of food services is the industry related to making,

transporting or selling prepared food to restaurants, hospital, school, and lodging

establishments. In this study, this term was used to refer businesses in Digos city,

preparing international food and serving it to the costumers.

Costumers Satisfaction. This term means the state of mind that costumers

have about a company when their expectations have been met or exceeded over the

lifetime of the product or service. In this study, this term was used to determine the

costumer’s satisfactory international cuisines food services satisfactory

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The focus of the study will be on how and why customers of international cuisine

restaurants are pleased with the food services provided by the restaurant and how

these services meet a certain standard of satisfaction. The researchers will only include

restaurants in Digos City that are based internationally and are known to serve foreign

cuisines. Furthermore, the selected customers must have experience in international

cuisine dining at least once. The study will be under strict supervision and guidance of

the investigator’s adviser and school principal.

Theoretical and Conceptual Framework of the Study

There have been a few studies that established the relationship between

restaurant services and customer’s satisfaction. When building customer relationship or

loyalty it is important to have customer satisfaction Therefore, in order to build customer

loyalty or relationships, businesses have to work hard on customer satisfaction. In a

win-win situation, business focus on profit and happy customers; and customers try to

satisfy their needs. (Singh 2006).

All business is built the connection on understanding client relationship

administration or relationship marketing has become a necessity in order to know how

to oversee business. (Gronroos 2000). The empirical research in development of

service quality theory suggests that improved service quality plays important role in

overall customer satisfaction he development of service quality theory and alternate

scales of measuring service quality, its role in customer satisfaction and importance of

SERVQUAL instrument stated by Borgave (2012). Johnson and Clark (2008) define
service concept as a shared understanding of the service nature provided and received.

They also state that service concept has to provide information about the essence of the

service, service experience, and service outcome.

It is included in this part the presentation of the schematic diagram of the study.

These are discussed below:

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Quality of international cuisine Customers Satisfaction in terms

food services in terms of: of:

 Kind staff  Kind staff

 Speed of Service  Speed of Service
 Food Quality  Food Quality
 Ambience  Ambience
 Price  Price

Moderator Variable
Demographic profile of the
costumer

 Age
 Sex
 Economic Status
Review of Related Literature

Occurrence of International Cuisines

Philippine cuisine has numerous indigenous and foreign influences. Remote

nations have impacted a ton of these dishes we knew a general overview of the cuisine

of the Philippines, what it is like, what influenced its past, and how it's evolved to

become the hottest new thing in the food world. The American and Spanish colonizers,

and the Chinese and other Southeast Asian dealers affected and achieved a

kaleidoscope in the Filipino method for cooking. (Lam, 2016)

Korean restaurants have been popping in and out of the different cities in the

metro, and there are a number of good ones. These authentic and hidden Korean

houses don’t even do much marketing, if none at all. It should come as no surprise that

this beloved cuisine is here to stay.

Filipinos have a natural palate for the sweet and savory, so it comes as no

surprise that Japanese cuisine is popular here. Though there is only one Japanese

restaurant that can be found in Digos City it is worth the money and the taste buds.

One of the greatest challenges for stakeholders is to ensure customer

satisfaction, especially in service industries such as tourism and hospitality. The aim of

this paper is to show that restaurant guest satisfaction depends on numerous factors as

well as to show the connection between satisfaction and loyalty. Customer satisfaction

and loyalty are excellent indicators of service quality. For the purpose of this paper,

empirical survey was conducted and the results of the research were analyzed by

statistical method. Factors which affect customer satisfaction are: kind staff,
professionalism, speeds of service, food quality, ambience and comfort. (Bulatovic and

Stranjancevic, 2015)

Service Personnel. Any restaurant business is incomplete without the service

personnel to tend to customers or even prepare the ordered food. Service encounters of

a customer may have been an overlooked factor by most restaurant owners but in fact,

interactions with service employees positively influence the consumer experiential

value. Furthermore, only interactive relationships with service employees directly affect

customer satisfaction and meal experience. (Wu & Liang, 2009)

Speed of Service. It goes without saying that the speed of service provided by a

restaurant can make a customer’s dining experience worthwhile. Tending to a

customer’s needs as quickly as possible will undoubtedly give the customer a positive

outlook on a restaurant’s service capabilities. Speed of service is an important

component of customer satisfaction at restaurants. Thus, managers should work on

improving speed of service and focusing on maintaining it. (Kabir, 2016)

Food Quality. Food quality is by all accounts acknowledged as a central part to

fulfill restaurant customers; be that as it may, it has been regularly ignored in restaurant

benefit quality and satisfaction contemplates. The essential target of this review was to

examine how food quality is seen in connection with satisfaction and behavioral

intentions in mid-to-upscale restaurants. (Kannan, 2017)

Ambience. Although a restaurant’s main strength comes from the quality of

service and food it cannot be helped that the atmospheric vibe of a restaurant can

greatly impact a customer’s likelihood of coming back. Restaurant atmospherics have a

significant influence on a patron’s dining satisfaction and their behavioral intentions

(Heung & Gu, 2012).

Price. Price has widely been accepted as an important marketing factor that

influences consumer behavior. It goes without saying that international cuisines are

quite pricey compared to local comfort foods in the area, with some cuisines also

requiring international ingredients unlike traditional ones that can be bought almost

anywhere in the city. Dining satisfaction may also be achieved through a cuisine’s

pricing, as stated by Chua et. al. (2015) the moderating function of price sensitivity

showed that novelty was more effective in inducing satisfaction in the low price

sensitivity group and it was more effective in enhancing perceived value in the high

price sensitivity group.

Customers Satisfaction. One of the greatest challenges for stakeholders is to

ensure customer satisfaction, especially in service industries such as tourism and

hospitality. The aim of this paper is to show that restaurant guest satisfaction depends

on numerous factors as well as to show the connection between satisfaction and loyalty.

Customer satisfaction and loyalty are excellent indicators of service quality. For the

purpose of this paper, empirical survey was conducted and the results of the research

were analyzed by statistical method. Factors which affect customer satisfaction are:
kind staff, professionalism, speeds of service, food quality, ambience and comfort.

(Bulatovic and Stranjancevic, 2015)

Definition of terms

The following phrases are defined for the better understanding of the study..

International cuisine. It refers to meals that incorporate the elements of the

culture within the country. It is the prepared dishes by international food services

company in Digos City.

Food services. The definition of food services is the industry related to making,

transporting or selling prepared food to restaurants, hospital, school, and lodging

establishments. In this study, this term was used to refer businesses in Digos city,

preparing international food and serving it to the costumers.

Costumers Satisfaction. This term means the state of mind that costumers

have about a company when their expectations have been met or exceeded over the

lifetime of the product or service. In this study, this term was used to determine the

costumer’s satisfactory international cuisines food services satisfactory

CHAPTER 2

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The chapter deals with the methods of a quantitative research being followed in

conducting the study. The researchers will be using a descriptive correlational research

design for the study in order to determine the relationship of customers satisfaction

based on the food services offered by international cuisines situated in the locality of

Digos City through analyzing the data obtained from the questionnaires that are

answered by the respondents.

Research Locale

The study will be conducted at Digos City, Davao del Sur. The selected

international restaurants are Jinbin Korean Grill & BBQ, Japanese Restaurant Takashi,

Tomodachi Japanese Restaurant, Mandarin Tea Garden, and Mama's Noodle

House.These restaurants are located at Roxas Extention, Quezon Avenue, Gaisano

Mall of Digos and Acaciahan Street Datoc Compound, respectively. The said

restaurants were chosen because it introduces the style of preparing the food of their

country and their food services. The target population for this research includes

international cuisines' crews and its customers. This is to assure that all data will be

collected without any biases.

Research sampling

In this study, the respondents that are going to be surveyed are the costumers

from the international food restaurants. The researchers will gather the samples using

the random sampling, in which it uses randomization and takes steps to ensure all

members of a population, have a chance of being selected. The respondents that will be

interviewed are the customers that are available at the time the researchers will go to

the restaurants.

Data gathering procedure

In the gathering of data for the study, these are the following steps that need to

be followed.

1. Requesting permission to conduct the study. In the gathering of

information, the researches will solicit authorizations by means of letter to conduct a

study routed to the principal and noted by the practical research teacher.

2. Administration and Retrieval of the instruments. After the approval of

the letter, duplicates of questionnaire will be disseminated to the target respondents to

accumulate the desired data.

3. Grouping and Preparing of Data. After the retrieval of the instruments

utilized as a part of the study, information will be appropriated to the target respondents.

4. Interpretation and Analyzing of Data. At the point when the information

from the survey will be gathered and measurably refined and process using of statistical

tool, the said information will be analyze and deciphered and answer the research

problem from chapter 1

Research Instrument

The researchers made surveys to measure the level of food services by the

restaurants and level of satisfaction of customers in the international cuisine

restaurants. The research instrument comprises of two (2) sections that contains 5

questions in each of the indicators. The first section mainly tackles on the food services

of the restaurants such as service personnel; speed of service, food, quality, ambience

and price. On second part, it focuses on the satisfaction of the customers are included

with are service personnel; speed of service, food, quality, ambience and pric also.

Providing high quality services and maintaining customers’ satisfaction are

important factors leading to the business success. Thus, understanding restaurant

customers and heaving in mind the importance of service attributes are important

criterions. The respondents will be surveyed using the the five-point Likert measurement

scale (1 = very low and 5=very high)

Range Interval Scale Description Meaning

4.50-5.00 5 Very High This indicates that the
restaurants have
excellent services
3.50-4.49 4 High This indicates that the
restaurants have
good services d
2.50-3.49 3 Moderate This indicates that the
restaurants have a
moderate level of
services
1.50-2.49 2 Low This indicates that the
restaurants have a
low level of services
1.00-1.50 1 Very Low This indicates that the
restaurants have a
very low services
The ratings of the test followed five levels to measure the level of restaurant

services and the customer satisfaction. The respondents will be surveyed and are

asked to indicate their satisfaction using the five-point Likert measurement scale (1 =

not satisfied and 5=extremely satisfied). On a Likert-type scale question, respondents

indicate their level of satisfaction with a particular statement or question (Guest,

MacQueen, Namey, 2011)

Range Interval Scale Description Descriptive

Equivalent
4.50-5.00 5 Extremely Satisfied This indicates that the
customers are
extremely satisfied
presented by
international cuisine
3.50-4.49 4 Very Satisfied This indicates that the
customers are very
satisfied presented by
international cuisine
2.50-3.49 3 Moderately Satisfied This indicates that the
customers are
moderately satisfied
presented by
international cuisine
1.50-2.49 2 Slightly Satisfied This indicates that the
customers are slightly
satisfied presented by
international cuisine
1.00-1.50 1 Not Satisfied This indicates that the
customers are not
satisfied presented by
international cuisine
Statistical tool

The researchers will use the simple statistical tool in analyzing and interpreting the

data. The arithmetic mean that explains an average found of adding a group of values

and dividing by the number of values in a group. It is defined as all the scores for

variables in the study are added together and then divided by the number of

observations presented after the extracting of the data. The researchers will also use

Pearson r that means the measure of relationship of the two variables, namely the

restaurant services and the customer’s satisfaction. It will be used to determine the

significance of the relationship between the restaurant services and the customer’s

satisfaction.