Lynn and Graves (1996) discuss tipping behaviour, though mainly in terms of its
motivation value for service employees. A more consumer-oriented study by
Rogelberg et al. (1999) uses a policy capturing technique to evaluate the way
individuals judged tipping in hypothetical restaurant situations. Most respondents
judged the tip from the cost of the meal, but the quality of the food and service and
the friendliness of staff also had an effect. Rogelberg’s team found no clear
relationship between tipping and consumer satisfaction. Two surveys have examined
the consequences of coupon use behaviour in relation to pizza restaurants. Wilbourn
et al. (1997) distinguished three market segments on the basis of pizza value
perceptions and coupon-proneness. Garretson and Chow (1997) report that coupons
increased purchase intentions and reduced perceived purchase risk, but also caused
service quality expectations to fall.
In summary, food service survey research is broadly concerned with identifying
market segments, targeting markets and positioning offerings relative to them.
Surveys typically achieve this using geodemographic data supplemented by attitude
measures. Consumers are considered to assess restaurants through sets of attributes,
and various theories (see Pizam and Ellis, 1999, p. 327) link consumers’ attitudes to
attribute sets. The principal one of these is expectancy disconfirmation theory.
Empirically determined attributes of restaurants tend to prioritise food quality
and value. Service, atmosphere and convenience also frequently appear, though
varying in importance between different outlets and dining occasions. This makes it
difficult to generalise survey findings between restaurants. Service quality measurement
with the SERVQUAL instrument makes generalisation possible, not only
between restaurants, but even between different industries within the service sector.
However, this instrument ignores food quality, and consumer satisfaction, which can
encompass the totality of foodservice attributes, seems a more appropriate output
measure. Various studies have demonstrated a link between customer satisfaction
and repurchase, and a model has been developed to predict repurchase from
geodemographicand attitudinal variables. Other consumer behaviours that have
been studied in relation to market segmentation are tipping and the use of
promotional coupons.