scholarly journals Perceptions Of Customers Regarding Their Expectations Of Service Quality In South African Full-Service Restaurants

Author(s):  
Petro Naude ◽  
Sharon Rudansky-Kloppers

Full-service restaurants serve different types of customers with preconceived ideas about what they want and expect to receive from the restaurant. During the dining experience, each customer experiences the service differently and subconsciously evaluates the experience differently. The purpose of this research is to determine the expectations and perceptions of customers regarding service quality sub-dimensions at Full-Service Restaurants (FSRs).  A self-administered survey of employees at a tertiary academic institution revealed that waiter professionalism, lack of individual attention, long waiting periods and stock-outs in FSRs are the most important concerns when it comes to the expectations of service quality. The findings of this study analysed a demographic profile (gender, age, home language, highest education qualification, LSM groups) and it was found that demographic category groups differ in the way that they perceive service quality. The study reveals that males tend to be less critical than women, LSM 9 respondents are less critical than LSM 10 respondents and respondents with an undergraduate degree or less are less critical than respondents with a post-graduate degree. The study also reveals a strong correlation between service quality and customer satisfaction. Recommendations include that management must focus on pricing strategies, strategic marketing, waiter training and the flow of communication between the restaurant and the customer. The recommendations made in this study will assist management of FSRs to understand the significance of high-quality service and to implement the required levels of service quality. With this knowledge, the management of FSRs can be assured of a satisfied customer and a competitive offering.

Kybernetes ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 1369-1386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya’nan Ji ◽  
Xiaoyan Xu ◽  
Yanhong Sun

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the cooperation and pricing strategies for e-commerce platforms when considering seller classification. Design/methodology/approach E-commerce platforms serve to facilitate trade and generate revenue from the participants. By classifying the sellers in the market into two types (the individual sellers vs the professional sellers), the authors examine how the interaction between the two types of sellers affects the platform’s cooperation and pricing decisions. Specifically, the authors compare two cooperation strategies for the platform: cooperating only with the professional sellers (strategy I); and cooperating with both the two types of sellers (strategy II). Findings When the platform attractiveness for the professional sellers is high enough, strategy II is absolutely beneficial than strategy I; whereas when the platform attractiveness for the professional sellers is low and the performance requirement of the individual sellers is relatively high, strategy I will be more beneficial. Practical implications For a platform choosing strategy II, it should make effort to differentiate between the different types of sellers by the product or service quality. Originality/value The paper is among the first to study the cooperation and pricing strategies for the e-commerce platform with seller classification.


2002 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Lalthapersad

Despite the increase in the number of women participating in the South African labour market in recent years, little progress has been made in removing wage disparities, eradicating women's marginality in the labour market, reassessing women's work or changing the traditional occupational ghettos of women. Not only does the South African labour market exhibit anomalies in respect of the gender composition of occupations, there are substantial differences by race. A good barometer of determining the extent to which men and women undertake different types of jobs, is to analyse the percentage of male and female workers per occupational category.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haidee Kruger ◽  
Gert De Sutter

Abstract The Multifactorial Prediction and Deviation Analysis (MuPDAR) method (Gries & Deshors 2014) represents an influential methodological advance in studying variation in contexts where linguistic choices in a “peripheral” variety (learner language, New Englishes) are studied in relation to the “central” variety. In this article we demonstrate how the method may be extended to study how varieties produced in settings of language contact (including translation) differ from non-contact varieties, particularly with respect to the degree of lexicogrammatical explicitness. We use the method to determine how (dis)similar the factors governing that-omission are in two different types of contact varieties, namely South African translated (trans-SAE) and South African non-translated English (SAE), in relation to British (GBE) English. The results show that the choices made in the contact varieties can be predicted to a reasonable extent, although South African translators and South African non-translators have a higher and lower inclination respectively to use explicit that compared to GBE non-translators. Based on the findings, we re-evaluate the explanations proposed for the increased explicitness of translated language through the frame of language contact, outlining the advantages of multifactorial methods over the frequency-based methods favoured in earlier studies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 438-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chancy Chaguluka ◽  
Andrisha Beharry-Ramraj ◽  
John Amolo

South African universities have embraced a drive to internationalize in view of globalization. One of the widely adopted measures towards internationalization has been the recruitment of international postgraduate scholars. The rationale is to draw diverse knowledge and expertise from the international students. However, the University of KwaZulu Natal’s Westville campus has not managed to attract a significant number of international scholars. The trend suggests that the university is unable to meet the expectations of international postgraduate students with regards to service delivery. The suggestion is premised on the argument that the previous and current international postgraduate students have not been satisfied with the service quality to stimulate other foreign postgraduate student enrolments through positive word of mouth. The main objective of the study was to confirm the assertions while exposing the gaps between their expectations and perceptions of service delivery at the university. The SERVQUAL model was used to guide the assessment of service quality among the research participants. The study adopted quantitative methodologies and data was drawn from international postgraduate students who were enrolled at the institution during the academic year 2016. The findings revealed that the international postgraduate students were dissatisfied with the levels of service at the university. Specifically, the study exposed gaps across all the five dimensions of service quality, namely reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles. It was concluded that the management at the university should institute deliberate measures to improve service quality, especially towards international postgraduate students.


2013 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 731-735
Author(s):  
A.W. Stadler ◽  
Z. Zawiślak ◽  
W. Stęplewski ◽  
A. Dziedzic

Abstract. Noise studies of planar thin-film Ni-P resistors made in/on Printed Circuit Boards, both covered with two different types of cladding or uncladded have been described. The resistors have been made of the resistive-conductive-material (Ohmega-Ply©) of 100 Ώ/sq. Noise of the selected pairs of samples has been measured in the DC resistance bridge with a transformer as the first stage in a signal path. 1/f noise caused by resistance fluctuations has been found to be the main noise component. Parameters describing noise properties of the resistors have been calculated and then compared with the parameters of other previously studied thin- and thick-film resistive materials.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arina Alexandra Muresan

The Second High-Level United Nations (UN) Conference on South-South Cooperation (also known as BAPA+40), held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 20 to 22 March 2019, promised to reinvigorate efforts to further achieve and implement South-South cooperation (SSC). Forty years on, the Global South is shaping its image as a solutions provider. Immense strides have been made in improving access to allow a multitude of state and non-state actors to cooperate, while broadening and deepening modes of cooperation and facilitating the exchange of knowledge and transfer of technology, thus moving beyond the simplistic view that developing countries require aid to function and move forward. However, noting these symbolic strides, the Global South should move forward by building understanding of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks; integrating multi-stakeholder models; improving the visibility of peace and security in South-South programming; and building effective communications systems.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donato Lacedonia ◽  
Giulia Scioscia ◽  
Piera Soccio ◽  
Massimo Conese ◽  
Lucia Catucci ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a degenerative interstitial lung disease with both a poor prognosis and quality of life once the diagnosis is made. In the last decade many features of the disease have been investigated to better understand the pathological steps that lead to the onset of the disease and, moreover, different types of biomarkers have been tested to find valid diagnostic, prognostic and therapy response predictive ones. In the complexity of IPF, microRNA (miRNAs) biomarker investigation seems to be promising. Methods We analysed the expression of five exosomal miRNAs supposed to have a role in the pathogenesis of the disease from serum of a group of IPF patients (n = 61) and we compared it with the expression of the same miRNAs in a group of healthy controls (n = 15). Results In the current study what emerged is let-7d down-regulation and, unexpectedly, miR-16 significant down-regulation. Moreover, through a cross-sectional analysis, a clustering of the expression of miR-16, miR-21 and miR-26a was found. Conclusions These findings could help the individuation of previously unknown key players in the pathophysiology of IPF and, most interestingly, more specific targets for the development of effective medications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 408-408
Author(s):  
Eric Vogelsang

Abstract Despite the well-established benefits of social participation for individuals and communities, little is known about how it varies throughout the life course. Drawing upon data collected between 1957 and 2011 by the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (22,023 observations from a cohort of 6,627), this study provides four valuable results. One, I find evidence of five distinct social participation trajectories between the ages of 35 and 71; the majority of which demonstrate social disengagement over time. Two, these participation declines are primarily attributable to changes in meeting friends and group exercise activity. Three, the most pronounced activity differences separating those in more favorable and unfavorable participation trajectories are cultural event attendance and voluntary group membership. Lastly, I identify particular high school activities that are associated with social participation decades later. In total, these results highlight heterogeneity among different types of social activities, and underscore the possible consequences of membership decisions made in early adulthood.


Author(s):  
Inge Lotsberg

The DNV-RP-C203 Fatigue Design of Offshore Steel Structures is being used by a number of different companies for fatigue assessment of different types of structures. This has resulted in questions to DNV about background for the different sections in the document. It is therefore important that the basis for this document is open to the industry. Quite a lot of the background material has also been published earlier at conferences and in journals. In some situations it has been found that the content can be improved to better suite the industry. The document is presented in an electronic version making revisions easy. Therefore it has been revised several times since the last official presentation of a revision in 2005. The present paper gives an overview of the most significant changes made in the document since the 2005 revision. Some of these changes are already included in the present version of DNV-RP-C203. The remaining changes will be included in a revision dated 2010.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document