Service quality and customer satisfaction in the restaurant business

2.4 Service Quality 
 
Service quality has stood an importance for the hospitality industry. It has been identified as 
one of the most effective means of building a competitive position and improving 
organizational performance. Service quality is a focused evaluation that reflects the customer‟s 
perception of specific dimensions of service, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, Empathy, 
tangibles, satisfaction on other hand, is more inclusive: it is influenced by perceptions of 
service quality, product quality, and price as well as situational factors and personal factors. 
Service quality affects customer satisfaction by providing performance For example if we 
take an example of Mac Donald restaurants, then the consumers will get food service here, 
high quality everywhere the same they like to be in Mac Donald‟s restaurants. It happens 
because of the high quality services. Customers today apprehend a very high general level of 
service in hospitality, tourism, and leisure. The accomplishment of competitors in these fields 
will thus be actuated by strategies concentrating on quality of services to add value, as argued 
to product or price differentiation. Service Quality Management in Hospitality, Tourism and 
Leisure focuses approaches and strategies that will augment the distribution of services, and 
supplies fair and understandable annotation of theoretical ideas and their practical operations. 
(Kandampully, Mok & Sparks 2001.) 
 
 
2.5 Managing customer complaints to improve customer satisfaction 
 
In simplest terms, complaints are comments about assumptions that have not been come up. 
They are also, and may be more particularly, probability for an organization to reconnect with 
customers by locating a service or product failure. In such a way, complaints are gifts that 
customers give to business. Thus, customers may complain that an item they just purchased 
does not match their demand. (Barlow & Muller 2008, 24.) It is common for customers to 
complain about some low-quality services, when these complaints are maintained adequately 
the customers will apperceive the services of the business organization as qualitative. For 
customers to have taken their time to complain about some issues concerning their 
satisfaction, they commonly have the idea on how to deal with the problems. Thus, the 
business organization could ask customers on how they can solve the complaints. This will 

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make them feel valued and rely on the business more. In order to handle complaints 
effectively the business organization should have well-trained workers and an effective 
recovery and amends program (Dru 2000, 88.) While running a restaurant business or any kind 
of business organization, the organization will face many different complaints. So, it is needed 
to manage them properly in order to improve customer satisfaction. Here are some points how 
the business organization could manage customer complaints. For example, Say “thank you” 
and give the reasons, listen carefully, apologize, show empathy, offer something and prevent 
future mistakes. 
The first important points for managing customer complaints is to say “thank you” and give 
the reasons. The business organization always should be aware of that they are providing 
effective services to the customers or not. Instead if they are not performing well then the 
customers may become unsatisfied and complain to the organization. The organization should 
say thank you to the customers for the complaints. Although most people or organization do 
not thank the complainer, it is wise to do so in order to make the customers feel better and 
encouraged to lay complaints whenever deficiency in the business organization offerings is 
noticed. Be it orally or written. The business organization should always thank for the 
customers complaints with great gratitude written in emotions or expressions. Further, the 
business organization should give the reason why they said thank you. When this is done the 
thanks expressed becomes more meaningful to the customers. For example: “Thank you for 
telling us this because it will make us improve the quality services and products which we 
intend doing at all time (Barlow & Moller 2008, 125-128).
 
Secondly, it is important to listen 
carefully to what the customers are saying. Customers are the heart of the business company. 
Just listen to them and do not interrupt them. It should be given to the customers to tell their 
story clearly and showed that they have been heard which makes them easy.
Similarly, to apologize is also another point for managing customer complaints to improve 
customer satisfaction. It is necessary to convey the manager‟s apology to the customers in a 
good way. When the customers are complaining to the organization, then it is not time for 
giving reasons, justification or excuses; the manager must apologize. (Stepcase Limited 2005.)
 
Not only this much. Empathy is also one of the important steps for managing customer 

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complaints to improve customer satisfaction. Just communicate to the customers that their 
complaints are understood clearly and they are doing great for telling the complaints which 
makes the company solve the problems and improve the service quality. (Dru 2000, 89.) 
Mentioning the points above like saying “thank you” and giving the reasons, listening 
carefully, apologizing, and showing empathy is not enough to manage the complaints to 
improve customer satisfaction. Offering something is also needed for managing complaints. It 
means that it is better for the business organizations if you always try to offer something to a 
dissatisfied customer. Such as: refunds, a discount on different items, or replacing it and so on. 
(Business Blogs Hubs 2012.) And at last, the very important point is preventing future 
mistakes. The business organization should make it clear that the complaints are not 
happening due to the failure of the employees, instead of that it is occurring due to the 
organization‟s strategies. Do not blame the employees. It is not good to blame them. In case 
employees are blamed, the employees will not be motivated to work for the organization. 
(Barlow & Moller 2008, 134.)