The effects of fast food restaurant attributes on customer satisfaction, revisit intention, and recommendation using DINESERV scale

Abstract

The fast food restaurant business is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. International and local restaurant chains are trying to satisfy the demands of customers for a variety of products and services. Along with changing market trends, customers are now becoming more sophisticated and demanding. Customer satisfaction is an essential business issue, as entrepreneurs have realized that favorable customer feedback is key for a long-term sustainable operation. Customers who have an excellent experience at a restaurant may recommend the restaurant to others, spread positive information, or become a loyal customer. The fast food industry has only recently developed in Mongolia and an increasing number of global fast food chains are now entering the market every year. The purpose of this paper is to examine and evaluate the factors affecting customer satisfaction, revisit intention, and likelihood of recommendation for Mongolian fast food restaurants, as well as a global fast food restaurant in Mongolia using the DINESERV scale. This study focuses on comparing directly competing food chains; only two brands were studied because of the limited fast food presence in Ulaanbaatar. Then, it aims to analyze how satisfaction levels influence a customer's revisit intention and likelihood of recommending a restaurant. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis of the difference between local and global fast food brands is a key element that this paper analyzes. Moreover, this paper investigates how results can be different according to whether the respondent resides in Mongolia or Korea and discusses business implications. The results of this paper show that four factors (food quality, service quality, price, and atmosphere of a restaurant) positively influence customer satisfaction, revisit intention, and likelihood of recommendation for Mongolian and global fast food restaurants, and customer satisfaction has a positive influence on customer revisit intention and likelihood of recommendation for both types of restaurants. However, depending on whether it is a Mongolian fast food restaurant or a global fast food restaurant, the factors affecting customer satisfaction, revisit intention, and recommendation are different.