Comparison of Customer Satisfaction Levels Achieved by Frozen Yogurt Establishments Operating Within the Dlsu Area

I. Introduction

Frozen yogurt is steadily gaining popularity in the Philippines as a result of the recent health trend. Segovia (2009) refers to frozen yogurt as a "healthy alternative to ice cream." Imbong (2010) also mentioned that frozen yogurt is low in fat, improves digestion, and contains beneficial live bacteria. As of 2010, healthy food is indentified as the most popular food category in the Philippines, with frozen yogurt being its latest product (Abad Et Al., 2010, p.48). Furthermore, from 2005 to early 2010, the number of frozen yogurt establishments in the Philippines has grown to an approximate of 50, with 15 different brands (Imbong, 2010, p.17). The target market of frozen yogurt in the Philippines is financially able. Individuals patronizing healthy culinary products come from higher income brackets and are not greatly affected by pricing. They would even choose to spend more to consume healthier food. Moreover, financially-inclined Filipinos always tend to consume healthy food more often compared to those coming from the lower sectors. (Abad Et Al., 2010, p.48). The increasing popularity of frozen yogurt among higher income classes in the Philippines provides for viable business opportunities; some of which have already been taken by companies putting up frozen yogurt establishments. Given that they are catering to a financially-inclined market, it is a priority of frozen yogurt establishments to offer a satisfying dining experience to their customers, because customer satisfaction can determine the performance of a food service establishment in terms of sales (Ng, 2005, p. 2). Customer satisfaction in the food service context is generally defined as "the customers overall judgment of the food service establishment" (Back, Estepa & Shanklin 2004, p. 5). Abdullah and Rozario, (2009) in a study regarding the influence of service and product quality towards customer satisfaction in the hotel staff cafeteria context, concluded that the ambience provided by an establishment and the quality of service given by an establishment's staff positively influenced customer satisfaction in the hotel staff cafeteria context. The low quality of food however, did not affect the high customer satisfaction ratings. In her research concerning customer satisfaction, return intention and word- of- mouth endorsement in the university cafeteria context, Ng (2005) similarly concluded that service quality affected customer satisfaction. However, she considered food quality as one of the most important aspects that influenced customer satisfaction in the cafeteria context. The differences between the conclusions in the studies of Abdullah and Rozario (2009) and Ng (2005), where customer satisfaction involving cafeterias was concerned, indicate that the process of measuring customer satisfaction could vary in almost similar contexts. Meanwhile, Soriano (2002), in a study regarding restaurant attributes that influence customer return intent, stated that food quality was proven to be more important than any other factor in the said context. Barrows and Powers (1999) on the other hand, emphasized that a customer's dining experience is based not only upon the consumption of food, but also the service of the staff and the atmosphere of the establishment. Furthermore, they stated that it is necessary for the food to be perceived as a part of the "overall concept of the operation" (Barrows & Powers 1999, pp. 150-151). Similar to the emphasis put on food quality by Soriano (2002) and also the idea conveyed by Barrows and Powers, (1999) Perutkova, (2010) in a study concerning the effect of restaurant attributes to the paying and patronizing patterns of customers, concluded that increases in the standards of the food quality, service quality, and ambiance of a restaurant positively affected the purchasing and patronizing patterns of customers. However, she indicated that the influence of service quality and ambience only came second to the influence of food quality. The slight differences among the studies of Abdullah and Rozario (2009), Soriano (2002), Ng (2005), Perutkova (2010) and the idea proposed by Barrows and Powers (1999) suggest that measuring customer satisfaction in the food service context is subject to differences in terms of how customer satisfaction is influenced by the factors considered for measurement. Although the factors considered in measuring customer satisfaction were similar, the process of measuring customer satisfaction as a means to increase sales may be more accurate if their influences could be based upon the requirements of the context involved. The influences of the factors in which customer satisfaction could be measured may be utilized more effectively if they agree with the specific demands of the context concerned, and are not entirely based upon previous established results. In response to the need for valuable information that may enhance the performance of frozen yogurt businesses and the satisfaction enjoyed by its patrons, the research attempted to prove that the varying customer satisfaction levels achieved by the establishments could be attributed to differences in the ratings of product quality, facility, and service standards. It was found that the differences in the customer satisfactions levels could be highly attributed to differences in product quality, because it achieved the highest percentage allocation as a base in determining customer satisfaction. The research considered the following research questions:

* What are the differences in the respondent's ratings of product quality, facility, and service standards offered by the frozen yogurt establishments within the DLSU area?

* What percentages would the respondents allocate to product quality, facility, and service standards as bases in determining the customer satisfaction levels achieved by the frozen yogurt establishments within the DLSU area?

* How do the differences in the respondents' ratings of product quality, facility, and service standards support the varying customer levels achieved by the frozen yogurt establishments within the DLSU area?

Body II. In order to obtain the respondents' ratings of the bases considered in measuring the customer satisfaction levels that the establishments have achieved, 7-point numerical rating scales were utilized. Hill Et Al. (2002) stated that numerical scales enable respondents to give more defined responses, because the use of such scales gives respondents the means to differentiate more specifically their personal ratings from other possible ratings. The authors also mentioned that numerical scales are fairly easy rating instruments for respondents to understand. Ease also comes when analyzing the data from numerical scales because the utilization of wide ranges of numbers allows