Predictory Effect of Food Quality on Patronage of QuickService Restaurants in Port-Harcourt, Nigeria.

Abstract

Research indicates that Quick Service restaurants have many opportunities to focus on aspects which will enhance their competitive advantage. Consumers enjoy visiting establishments where food quality is good as this supports the value-for-money notion. While restaurant service and the ambience generally affect a customer’s behavioral intentions, it is quality food offerings that remain the critical aspect.The purpose of this study was to assess empirically the predictor Effect of food quality on Patronage of Quick-Service Restaurants in Port -Harcourt. The study population comprise ten thousand (10,000) customers of registered and Operational Quick- Service Restaurants in Port Harcourt, Rivers State; and the sample size for the study constitute three hundred and seventy customers of the restaurants which was determined using the Krejice and Morgan (1970) table. Furthermore, three hundred and seventy-two copies of structured questionnaire were distributed to customers at the respective waiting lounges and halls of the restaurants while three hundred and thirty were retrieved, cleaned and used for the study. Descriptive statistics were used in analyzing the respondent’s demographics while the Spearman Rank Correlation Technique was used in testing the hypothesis proposed in the study. The result of the analysis revealed that there was a significant relationship between food quality and patronage of quick-service restaurants in Port Harcourt. The study concluded that food quality significantly affects the patronage of quick-service restaurants in Port Harcourt. The researchers therefore recommended that the management of quickservice restaurants should regularly improve on their food quality in order to increase their level of customer patronage.

Keywords

• Food quality attributes
• food service industry
• customer patronage
• Nigeria
• sustainability