Parents' meal choices for their children at fast food and family restaurants with different menu labeling presentations

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study examined the effect of nutrition labeling formats on parents' food choices for their children at different restaurant types. SUBJECTS/METHODS: An online survey was conducted with 1,980 parents of children aged 3–12 years. Participants were randomly assigned to fast food or family restaurant scenarios, and one of four menu stimuli conditions: no labeling, low-calorie symbol (symbol), numeric value (numeric), and both low-calorie symbol and numeric value (symbol + numeric). Participants selected menu items for their children. Menu choices and total calories were compared by nutrition labeling formats in each type of the restaurant. RESULTS: Low-calorie item selections were scored and a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted for an interaction effect between restaurant and labeling type. In the fast food restaurant group, parents presented with low-calorie symbols selected the lowest calorie items more often than those not presented with the format. Parents in the symbol + numeric condition selected significantly fewer calories (653 kcal) than those in the no labeling (677 kcal) or numeric conditions (674 kcal) (P = 0.006). In the family restaurant group, no significant difference were observed among different labeling conditions. A significant interaction between restaurant and labeling type on low-calorie selection score (F = 6.03, P < 0.01) suggests that the effect of nutrition labeling format interplays with restaurant type to jointly affect parents' food choices for their children. CONCLUSIONS: The provision of easily interpretable nutritional information format at fast food restaurants may encourage healthier food choices of parents for their children; however, the effects were negligible at family restaurants.

Personnel Scheduling of Restaurant using Integer Programming / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purpose of this study is to investigate an efficient use of labor in personnel scheduling for the restaurant industry. More specifically, this study attends to reduce overall labor cost while not sacrificing both full-time and part-time employees' schedules. The customers' demands were measured by sales in this analysis. Historically, server scheduling in the restaurant has been practiced by manager's experience and intuition; however, those practices provided drawbacks because managers often fail to consider external factors such as a employees' working conditions and change in a restaurant's size. The result of a new method in personnel scheduling provided significant cost saving compared to a previous scheduling technique. This study found that a new method in personnel scheduling allowed the restaurant to save labor cost. The outcome of this study should offer important strategic implication for the restaurant managers.

Influence of the Consumer-Brand Relationship Quality on the Customer Satisfaction in the Family Restaurant / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of the consumer-brand relationship quality on the customer satisfaction in the family restaurant. The questionnaires were distributed to 320 students in the K University located in Masan, who were sampled by convenience-sampling method. The surveys were conducted from November 10 to 24, 2005. The 287 questionnaires responded, and 15 unusable questionnaires were excluded, then 272 were used for the final analysis (response rate: 85.0%). For the statistical analysis, SPSS (12.0) was used to conduct the descriptive analysis, factor analysis, reliability analysis, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. The result of this study showed that 2 constructs (trust and intimacy) of consumer-brand relationship quality have significant positive effects on the customer satisfaction in the family restaurant (p < .001). It meant that as consumer-brand relationship quality becomes stronger, the customer satisfaction becomes greater. As a conclusion, the foodservice manager in the family restaurant should focus on the marketing strategy to strengthen the quality of consumer-brand relationship in order to increase the satisfaction of customers.

A Case Study for Pricing Strategy Planning of a Family Restaurant Using Price-Sensitivity Measurement / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purpose of this study was to suggest menu pricing strategy based on understanding about customer perceived value of products and services. The technique known as PSM (Price Sensitivity Measurement) was used for analysis of price sensitivity for 3 menu items of a family restaurant in Seoul. A questionnaire was developed through literature review and modified after pilot test. Questionnaires for the main survey were distributed to 250 customers on their visit to the restaurant, and a total of 138 questionnaires were used for analysis (55.2%). The statistical analysis of price sensitivity was conducted using PSM, and descriptive analyses were conducted using SPSS Win (12.0). The main results of this study were as follows: the price sensitivity of beef tenderloin steak was higher than two other menus and the stress range of teriyaki chicken was almost 0, that is, the price sensitivity of teriyaki chicken was very low. Present menu prices of 3 menu items were within the range of acceptable prices, but had some distances from the optimal pricing point. From the result of this study, it was concluded that price adjustment or price promotion strategy would be effective for increase in sales of beef tenderloin steak, and marketing strategies to enhance consumers' perceptions of value should be conducted for all menu items by situations. Overall, PSM technique could be a helpful tool for researchers and managers of foodservice organizations to understand how consumers' perceptions of value are affected by the interaction of price and quality.

Analysis of Customer Expectation and Satisfaction for New Menus in Multi-Chain Family Restaurants / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purposes of this study were 1) to understand customers' expectations and satisfaction on menus in family restaurants, 2) to compare customer satisfaction and brand image for positioning new menus, and 3) to analyze customer satisfaction and loyalty to each menu. From May 8th to 28th, 2004, a total of 3,594 membership customers responded to the email survey. Statistical analyses such as t-test, ANOVA and Pearson Correlation were performed using SPSS 12.0. The results of this study consist of four major parts: general findings, customer expectation analysis, new menu positioning and customer satisfaction analysis. The customer expectation analysis discovered that taste was the most expected attribute in menus of family restaurants, followed by quantity, appearance and price. Statistically different expectations existed among different customer groups categorized by their general characteristics including demographics. Also, high correlations existed among the expectations over all the attributes: food quality, shape, quantity and price of food. Over all the attributes, customer expectation was higher than customer satisfaction. Thus, a discrepancy existed between expectation and satisfaction. Positioning of new menus was determined by brand image and customer satisfaction. Lastly, the customer satisfaction analysis revealed that customers in different gender and age have different satisfaction. In addition, high correlation existed between satisfaction and loyalty on new menus of a family restaurant. In consequence, the research findings suggest managers should understand customer expectation and satisfaction and reposition their menus regularly by menu engineering.