Executive Summary

SUNY Oswego currently does not have a mass selection of places to eat on campus. Throughout the SUNY Oswego campus, there are only five dining halls: Cooper, Lakeside, Littlepage, Mackin, and Pathfinder. The focus of the study was to measure customer satisfaction of SUNY Oswego college students towards the dining halls across campus. Through the research that was conducted, the researchers were able to identify if bringing an external dining facility to campus would increase consumer satisfaction and if so which external dining facility is most desired. During the pilot study a survey was distributed to measure the customer satisfaction score of students around campus (m=4.92). Scores could range from a low of 1 to a high of 7.. Conclusions drawn from the pilot study suggest that a full-scale study be performed in order to obtain a more valid understanding of SUNY Oswegos consumer satisfaction with the dining halls.

Situation Analysis

Company Analysis Currently, The State University of New York At Oswego has no independent food facilities established on its campus. Many other universities have fast food chain restaurants on campus, which makes it much easier for students to grab a quick meal in between classes. SUNY Oswegos campus has five dining halls (Lakeside, Cooper, Pathfinder, Mackin, and Littlepage). Lakeside dining hall which is located on east campus and you are inside you can see the brilliant view of Lake Ontario. Cooper dining hall in the center of campus which is convenient for students who are switching classes and need to grab a bite to eat and dont have time to run all the way back to their dorm rooms. Located on west campus is Pathfinder dining hall and Littlepage dining hall which overlook the Glimmer Glass Lagoon. These facilities provide meals that can be prepared quickly and large seating areas are available where students can sit down and eat. With this proposed study, the researchers are trying to determine the level of satisfaction among consumers at the dining halls and what external food restaurant consumers would desire the most. Having an external food option on campus may inspire many benefits for both the students and the institution. By bringing in a fast food restaurant there, revenue may increase as well as satisfaction with SUNY Oswegos food operation. Revenue could increase because college students may be more willing to spend their money at fast food establishments opposed to taking their patronage elsewhere. Also, the convenience of the location where the fast food chain would be located will play a huge role in its success. One weakness that the researchers could encounter is that potential health issues could arise if students are eating too much fast food. The fact that fast food is so convenient and cheap might give some students the idea that it is fine to eat fast food up to three times a day. Students

who live on campus should still eat at least one meal in the dining halls where the food is prepared healthier. Also, this could potentially take away jobs from students who are currently working in the food courts. It is expected that if an external food establishment be brought to SUNY Oswegos campus, would hire their own employees rather than hire students. The SUNY Oswego campus could greatly benefit if there was a fast food chain restaurant on campus. Many SUNY schools currently have chain restaurants on their campuses and students are pleased. Also, it is a great advantage for the potential fast food chain; increasing the awareness of their products among college students. Fast food restaurants have branding that is recognized globally and therefore no matter where students come from, they are most likely going to recognize the fast food restaurants. Customer Analysis The desired participants in this proposed research study are consumers that attend the dining halls. The majority of the consumers that utilize the dining halls are undergraduate students who are both males and females. The next largest market segment are middle aged faculty members, although this research will be predominately be directed towards undergraduate students and their perceptions of satisfaction with the on campus dining facilities. When choosing where to eat on campus, students tend to seek for variety, consistency, and conveniently located establishments. By introducing brand name fast food chains on campus, students will have a choice between brand name establishments and the traditional food courts that are currently available. College students are the primary customers of fast food chains because it is a cheap, fast, and easy way to eat a meal without taking an abundance of time out of the day to cook or sit down at a restaurant and eat. (Alexander, 1990)

College students usually do not have a very high income and understandably do not want to spend a lot of money on a meal. Positioning brand name food chains on campus will allow students to use their meal plans at the fast food chains opposed to buying food from fast food chains that are located off campus and using actual cash to make the purchase. On the SUNY Oswego campus there are a variety of meal plans for students to choose from. If you live on campus, it is recommended that you get the full board meal plan. The full board meal plan includes unlimited meals at any of the dining halls on campus and is mandatory for first semester freshman. The next choice for students is the any 12 plan in which students are able to eat up to twelve meals a week in any of the SUNY Oswego dining halls. The next choices of meal plans are any 9, any 7, any 5, and any 2. The any 2 meal plan is only available to students who are residents of Lonis, Moreland and The Village dormatories. The meal plans on the SUNY Oswego campus tend to be quite pricey. The full board meal plan is the most expensive meal plan, costing students $2,260.00 per semester. Competitor Analysis When deciding on a college, many people take into consideration the education, residence halls, and of course dining services. All colleges have their own specified dining hall, but many other universities have other dining services such as fast food chains that they offer to students. In todays society, there are several views on the whole fast food industry. Some people perceive fast food as a fast, easy, inexpensive way to eat a meal. Alternatively, people feel that it isnt healthy to eat this quality of food consistently. On a college campus there are people who frequently choose to eat fast food and people who rarely choose to eat fast food. There are many college students who choose to eat fast food due to its convince and prices.

Currently on the SUNY Oswego campus, there are no major fast food chains. The school does offer two major beverage companies on campus: Starbucks and Freshens. On the SUNY Oswego campus, besides the main dining hall, the school has three secondary eating establishments: Crossroads, Cutting Board, and Palates. These places offer different types of food and beverages to the students. Most of the meals that are offered at these establishments are under ten dollars. An issue with having a limited amount of eating establishments on campus is that there is a lack of variety of food. Due to practicality, the dining facilities on SUNY Oswegos campus run on a monthly food schedule. Each month, several of the meals are being repeated from the previous months menu. Bringing major food chains onto campus will allow students to choose from a wider variety of food choices.

Research Objectives and Information Needs

Research objective 1: A measurement of consumer satisfaction among SUNY Oswego students with regards to the dining facilities established on campus is desired. It is undeniable that the population of U.S. college students is growing at a rapid rate. According to On Campus Hospitality (2003) the spending power of college students has grown to an astounding $90 billion a year. With the rising growth of competition among fast-food chains, and the escalating number of meal plan choices, the typical college student is no longer tolerable of sub-par meals (Kim, Ng & Kim, 2009).. In order to gauge customer satisfaction among the college community, several dimensions of the food-service experience must be analyzed. Through an extensive literary search, fur dimensions of the food-service business will be pinpointed in order to assess the current level of on-campus food service satisfaction. Tangibility Reliability Satisfaction with the communication of service hours Satisfaction with the consistency of food service Satisfaction with the visual appearance of the dining facility Satisfaction with the cleanliness of the dining facility

Customer Relations Satisfaction with the individual attention given to each consumer Satisfaction with the employees willingness to help consumers

Food Satisfaction with proportion sizes Satisfaction with the variety of choices

Research objective 2: The researchers aim to discover which external dining facility SUNY Oswego students most desire to be established on campus. Through extensive research, it was found that the seven most popular external food operation in which SUNY schools have established on their campus are Wendys, Moes, Sbarros, Tim Hortons, Dunkin Donuts, Sub Way and Friendlys. In order to fulfill this objective, participants were requested to rank these seven establishments based on desirability. Research objective 3: The researchers wish to explore the relationship between students consumer satisfaction with established dining facilities on campus and the rate at which they choose food options outside of campus. There is much information needed in order to determine if the introduction of a fast- food chain to the SUNY Oswego campus would be advantageous for the institution. First the researchers must find the current level of satisfaction toward on campus eateries. Is there something that the SUNY Oswegos students desire with regards to the food facilities that the college is not currently offering? Next the researchers must discover the nature of the relationship, if any, between a consumers satisfaction and the rate at which they choose external options. If a consumer becomes less satisfied with SUNY Oswegos dining facilities the more they choose external food options, this relationship may indicate that adding an external facility will increase consumer satisfaction.

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Literature Review

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Conceptual Definition Customer satisfaction is an integral component to the marketing concept. It is no surprise that customer satisfaction is a major concern for marketing managers. There is evidence showing a direct link between satisfaction and the success of a firm (Anderson, Fornell and Lehmann, 1992). Colleges and universities face unique challenges when approaching customer satisfaction, the college and university target markets are large and encompass a vast variety of demographics (College & University, 1997). Customers of universities include not only students, but faculty, staff and visitors as well. University food-services face the difficulty of serving a population that is extremely diverse (Kim, Moreo & Yeh, 2004). Additionally, the university must strategically handle the fact that these individuals, to some degree, are forced to make a choice and lack a bit of autonomy in their decision-making process (Gassenheimer, Davis, & Dahlstrom,1998). The concept of satisfaction is most generally operationalized as an attitude-like judgment, which results from the experience of a purchase act or based upon multiple consumer-product interactions (Yi, 1990). Modern literature on customer satisfaction provides that customers have preconceived notions of a product or service, which is either positively disconfirmed or negatively disconfirmed following a consumption experience, which is known as the expectation-disconfirmation (ED) model (Figure 1). This model was an adaption of the previous theoretical tenet of satisfaction, the comparison standards (CS) paradigm. This paradigm assumes that customers have pre-consumption product standards, observe the performance of the product, compare the performance with standards, form either a confirmed or disconfirmed perception, combine perceptions with standard levels, and ultimately form satisfaction judgments (Oliver, 1989). When a standard is confirmed, under this paradigm, the consumer will experience
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moderate satisfaction. Standards that are positively disconfirmed, in that the product function exceeded the consumers standards, high satisfaction will result. When standards are negatively disconfirmed, the consumer will be dissatisfied. The consumer can hold many different comparison standards, which can each be tied to an exclusive feature of the brand or product. In the ED model, comparison standards are translated as the consumers expectations. The most commonly used comparison standard used in consumer satisfaction research is predictive expectations. As in the ED model, when predictive expectations are disconfirmed, the underlying judgment of the attribute performance is changed (Oliver, 1996). Desires are identified as the comparison standard or expectation in which certain attributes are considered ideal to the consumer. Other consumer satisfaction models use comparison standards such as equity expectations, in which the consumer has a preconceived belief of what should occur based on the price of a product or service, which can directly influence overall satisfaction (Oliver & Swan, 1989). Extending beyond simple cognitive factors, some researchers have gone on to consider the affective nature of satisfaction (Oliver, 1996). Including emotional aspects into the concept of consumer satisfaction allows researchers to clearly represent the consumers perceptions rather than using the CS paradigm alone. Oliver (1989) has proposed five prototypical components of satisfaction; contentment, pleasure, relief, novelty, and surprise. Not only does the attribute experience play a major role on consumer satisfaction; the experience also drives the consumers affective response towards the product (Oliver, 1994). The difficulty in conceptualizing consumer satisfaction lies in the fact that it can be classified into two different domains, attitudinal (affective and cognitive) and behavioral

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(intentionality and actual behavior) (Soone, 2006). Often times while defining consumer satisfaction, researchers will express that it is an attitude-like judgment. The intermittence of these two domains are undeniable, however, it is important for marketing managers and the like to recognize customer satisfaction and customer attitudes as separate constructs. In order to accurately describe this distinction, Oliver (1981) states that attitude is the consumers relatively enduring affective orientation for a product, store or process (e.g. customer service), while satisfaction is the emotional reaction following a disconfirmation experience which acts on the base attitude level and is consumption-specific (p. 42).

Figure 1: Expectation Disconfirmation Model with limited information (Oliver, 1989)

Methodology It is necessary to recognize consumer satisfaction and perceptions of service quality as distinct and separate constructs (Fournier & Mick, 1999). However, research has shown that service quality and satisfaction share a causal relationship (McDougall & Levesque, 2000) Data on consumer satisfaction is primarily collected through self-report methods. Surveys and interviews are ideal for assessing consumers perceptions in relation to their expectations of

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quality pertaining to a certain attribute of a service. The majority of consumer satisfaction research utilizes self-report methods on the perceptions, expectations, attitudes, and behaviors of a desired population. Kim, Moreo and Yeh (2004) utilized a three-part questionnaire in order to assess the customer satisfaction with the food-service operation at Oklahoma State University. Part one asked respondents to report their own purchasing behaviors on campus. Part two evaluated the customers satisfaction of service quality with the food-service operation along the dimensions food quality, uniqueness of the menu, and atmosphere. The final part was used to determine the demographic profile of respondents. The sampling frame of this study was defined as customers who had patronized any of the seven restaurants (Allegro, Burger King, Blimpie, Chick-Fil-A, Caf Features, Tortillia, or Wokery) located in the Oklahoma State dining area during the survey period. A convenience sample was utilized by randomly distributing 100 questionnaires to customers who were eating at the desired restaurants over a three-day period. A total of 300 questionnaires were distributed and 276 valid questionnaires were used for analysis, giving this study a response rate of 92%. Measurements In order to comprehensively measure consumer satisfaction, two components must be considered; expectations and perceptions. Assessing the gap between a consumers expectations of service quality, and the perceptions that consumer developed based on the service actually received allows researchers to attain a comprehensive understanding of satisfaction. SERVQUAL is a multi-itemed instrument developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985, 1988, 1991) which includes two scales of measurement, (1) a consumers expectations of

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quality service provided by an ideal firm in a specific industry and (2) the consumers perceptions of the service actually received by the firm in question. According to Asuboteng, McCleary and Swan (1996) the SERVQUAL is the most widely accepted measurement of consumer expectations, perceptions, and the resulting gap. The SERVQUAL is composed of 22-pair statements aimed to measure consumer expectations and perceptions of quality across five different dimensions; tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy (Lam & Woo, 1997). Responses to each item on the SERVQUAL include a closed-ended 7-point Likert scale (1= strongly disagree, 7= strongly agree). An example item assessing the expectations of a consumer pertaining to the tangible aspects of the service would be Their physical facilities should be visually appealing. The pair item to the given example, which purports to assess the consumers perception on the same dimension, would be XYZs physical facilities are visually appealing. The response of the item meant to measure perceptions will be subtracted by the measure of expectation on the same item. The higher the resulting score, the higher the level of perceived service quality. Several adaptions of the SERVQUAL instrument have been constructed to measure satisfaction with the food-service sector specifically, including Dineserv (Stevens, Knutson & Patton, 1995), which measures dining service quality in general, and TANGSERV (Raajpoot, 2002), which focuses on only the tangible dimensions of service quality. The application of this instrument can facilitate decision-making in the management of resources. The SERVQUAL provides much more in depth and richer information for the use of marketing managers by simultaneously measuring expectations and perceptions. By measuring multiple dimensions of service quality, managers can utilize benchmarking of quality levels with competitors, and assess internal operations within the company itself (Lam & Woo, 1997).
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However, the SERVQUAL has some drawbacks. Many researchers raise issue with the fact that the instrument neglects to consider ex-post expectations (Carman, 1990). Evidence has shown that consumers who have a negative experience tend to overstate their expectations, while consumers who have a positive experience typically understate their expectations. This notion raises serious concern with the validity of SERVQUALs measurements of expectations.

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Methodology

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Pilot Study The pilot study took place within the five dining halls that are located on the SUNY Oswego campus (Cooper, Littlepage, Mackin, Pathfinder, & Lakeside) for a specified duration of time. The survey was administered by the researchers of the study and was given to individuals that were eating in the dining hall at that time. Over the course of five days 30 surveys were distributed to participants. A total of 27 survey were found to be valid. The pilot study yielded a response rate of 90%. Participants were informed that the purpose of the study was to measure consumer satisfaction with SUNY Oswegos dining services and that they have the option to opt out of the study at any time. By administering the surveys personally to participants that are eating in the dining hall, the researchers can guarantee that a useful sample will be obtained. Every participant in the pilot study has the experience needed in order to contribute to a consumer satisfaction study on SUNY Oswegos dining services. Full Scale Study Participants The desired participants for this study have been identified as any undergraduate student who frequently attends the five dining facilities located on the SUNY Oswego campus during the designated survey period. In order to maintain internal validity, those who agree to participate will be asked to report on two qualifying credentials. Individuals who have recently participated in satisfaction research pertaining to any of SUNY Oswegos facilities or services will be disqualified from participation. Additionally, individuals will be disqualified if they are associated with SUNY Oswegos food service operation. These qualifying factors will increase the probability of obtaining an unbiased sample. Demographic information will be collected in
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order to explore if factors such as class standing and selection of meal plan influences satisfaction with the campus dining facilities. Personally-identifying material will not be collected from research participants and confidentiality will be maintained indefinitely. Measurements Based on extensive review of literature associated with research on customer satisfaction, a self-report survey has been selected as the optimal measurement tool. By requesting participants to report their perceptions of SUNY Oswegos dining services, the researchers will be able to quantitatively assess the gap between these two sets of judgments. This method is deemed to be less invasive and more efficient than an experimental method or in-depth interview while still obtaining the necessary information needed to draw sufficient conclusions. The SUNY Oswego DINESERV (Santimaw, Failla, Quarles & Agnese, 2013) was created using an adapted form of the DINESERV (Knutson & Patton, 1995). This measurement tool is a highly-structured, self-report survey which instructs respondents to indicate their position on fourteen statements. Responses for all fourteen items were constructed to be in the form of a balanced, unforced, 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The statements on the survey are geared towards four different dimensions. These dimensions consist of tangibles (six items), responsiveness (three items), customer relations (three items) and food (two items). An example statement which attempts to measure perceptions of any SUNY Oswego dining service would be items on the printed menus should be available throughout the service period. The SUNY Oswego DINESERV utilizes a strictly quantitative approach and no level of disguise.

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The survey tool used in this research will include five demographic items. Respondents will be requested to indicate their gender, age, class standing , whether they live on or off campus, which fast food chain is most desired to be on the SUNY Oswego campus, and which meal plan they currently if they have chosen for the spring 2013 semester, if any. This data will be used for inferential analysis following the conclusion of the five-day data collection period. Procedure The survey will be distributed to participants through Surveymoneky.com which is an online survey database. Participants will be chosen by obtaining their identification numbers from all five of the dining halls which then will be used to obtain their corresponding email addresses. The selected students will be emailed a link so that they can complete the survey. Each participant will have twenty minutes to conclude the survey and will be asked that nobody else completes the survey for them.

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The Sampling Plan

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Population Element The population element of the experiment consists of all of the students that frequently utilize the SUNY Oswego dining facilities (Lakeside, Cooper, Pathfinder, Littlepage, and Mackin). By measuring the attitudes of students that utilize the dining halls most often, the information that has been obtained can be used to determine if bringing a fast food establishment to the SUNY Oswego campus would fully satisfy the needs and wants of the student population. Sampling Unit For the study that was conducted the sampling unit was the SUNY Oswego undergraduate students. SUNY Oswego has a breakdown of 7,379 undergraduate students. Even though 8,216 students were available to survey for the study, it was only useful to distribute the survey to the undergraduate students due to the fact that they are the ones who use the dining halls located on campus most often. By only surveying undergraduate students the results obtained from the study will be most reliable since they have the most experience with the dining halls. Extent The geographic location of the participants was within a 5-mile radius of the SUNY Oswego campus. The geographic boundaries were rather limited due to the fact that the study was based on the satisfaction of customers within the SUNY Oswego dining facilities. This limited the population because not everyone who lives in Oswego utilizes the dining facilities that are available on the SUNY Oswego campus.

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Time The study that was performed was cross-sectional in that data was collected at one period of time. The participants had twenty minutes to complete the survey and were asked that no one else complete the survey for them. The study consumer satisfaction study was performed in the spring 2013 semester. No follow up data collection was performed for this research. Sampling Frame The target population for the study is SUNY Oswego undergraduate students. In order to satisfy the research objective, the researchers must obtain a database of available sampling units from each of the five dining facilities. The researchers will contact the head of operations from each facility to collect a list of identification numbers. Each time a customer goes to a dining facility their identification card is swiped and entered into a perpetual database. Through this system the researchers would be able to observe the time of arrival and how many times per day they utilized the dining facility. The identification numbers will also allow the researchers to contact students through email. Researchers are able to obtain students emails since their identification numbers and emails are correlated. Five hundred identification numbers will be obtained from each dining hall.

Sampling Procedure

In many studies the sample design is constructed to have either probability or nonprobability sampling. This study is constructed to have a probability sampling. The probability sampling that this study uses is classified as a simple random sample. The researchers used a random digit output to choose which sampling unit would be the starting point from the

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sampling frame. After that, every fifth unit on the list is chosen for participation. The chosen participants will be emailed a link to a web based survey (via SurveyMonkey.com).

Sample Size The main objective of the proposed research is to discover the true average customer satisfaction score among SUNY Oswego students with regard to the dining facilities on campus. In order to efficiently address this research objective, an appropriate sample size must first be determined. A traditional method of determining sample size was used in that confidence intervals were established based on estimated standard deviations of the future sample's scores and desired level of precision. Many decisions needed to be made before any calculations regarding sample size could take place. First, it has been established that the researchers wish to have 95% confidence that the true customer satisfaction score of the population will lie within the parameters of the determined sample scores. Second, the researchers have reached the decision that the final sample average must be within 10 percentage points of the population average. Lastly, several standard deviations were considered while determining sample size. Standard deviation estimates were based on a pilot study done by the researchers prior to a full-scale data collection. The average customer satisfaction score of the pilot study was determined to be 4.98 while the standard deviation was .79. The second estimate of standard deviation considered the normal distribution of scores. Since customer satisfaction scores are determined using a number scale 1 through 7, the range of this distribution is 6. There are 6 standard deviations in the normal distribution which led to the standard deviation estimate of 1.

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In an attempt to overestimate the standard deviation, the final standard deviation estimate came to be 1.21 by using a .21 increment established by the previous estimates. Following the performance of necessary calculations, it has been determined that n=239 would be an appropriate sample size in order to address the proposed research objective with the desire confidence and level of precision determined by the researchers. This decision was reached by careful consideration of precision, confidence, and expected variance among the scores of the sample. While a smaller sample size will be less costly, it is advisable to increase the sample to a number over 300 due to the expected variance among scores of customer satisfaction.

Table: Sample size determination H (level of half precision) .1 .1 .1 s (estimated std. deviation) .79 1 1.21 z (confidence level) 1.96 1.96 1.96 n (sample size) 239 384 562 Budget ($10 per element) 2,390 3,840 5,620

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Results

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Research object 1: A measurement of consumer satisfaction among SUNY Oswego students with regards to the dining facilities established on campus is desired. Following the analysis of data collected by a pilot study (n=27), an average consumer satisfaction score among SUNY Oswego students with regard to the dining facilities established on campus was discovered to be 4.98 (s=.79). Consumer satisfaction scores could have ranged from an absolute low of 1, to an absolute high of 7. Figure 1: Average Total Consumer Satisfaction Scores N 27 Mean 4.98 Median 5.00 Std. Dev. .78 Minimum 3.64 Maximum 6.64

Consumer satisfaction scores were also considered separately according to dining hall. Participants who utilized Lakeside dining hall the most reported the highest consumer satisfaction scores (m=5.42, s=.65, n=9). Participants who utilized Littlepage dining hall the most reported the lowest consumer satisfaction scores (m=4.33, s=.47, n=4). One dining hall was omitted from analysis due to lack of participation. Figure 2: Customer Satisfaction Scores According to Dining Hall Dining Hall Lakeside Cooper Pathfinder Littlepage N 9 3 10 4 Mean 5.42 4.90 4.94 4.33 Std. Dev. .65 .42 .91 .47 Minimum 4.50 4.43 3.79 3.64 Maximum 6.50 5.21 6.64 4.64

In order to discover if consumer satisfaction scores among students who use Lakeside and Littlepage dining halls are significantly different, an independent t-test was conducted to compare the sample means. Customer satisfaction scores for Lakeside (m=5.42) and Littlepage (m=4.33) were found to be significant at an alpha level of .05, (p=.01). Figure 3: Results of Independent T-Test between Lakeside and Littlepage t 2.98 df 11 Sig. (2-tailed) .01

In order to classify participants based on their level of satisfaction, a median split was performed based on consumer satisfaction scores. The median score was found to be 5.00. Participants who reported a consumer satisfaction between 1 and 4.99 were classified as low
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on the spectrum of scores. Participants who reported scores between 5.00 to 7 were classifies as who are high on the spectrum on consumer satisfaction scores. A total of 51.9% of the sample was classified as low and the remaining 48.1% were classified as having a high consumer satisfaction score. A cross tabulation of high and low scores with regard to dining facilities has been provided. Figure 4: Cross tabulation of High and Low Scores According to Dining Hall Dining Hall Lakeside Cooper Pathfinder Littlepage Total: High 22.2% 7.4% 18.5% 0% 48.1% Low 11.1% 3.7% 18.5% 14.8% 51.9%

Research object 2: The researchers aim to discover which external dining facility SUNY Oswego students most desire to be established on campus. Participants in the pilot study were given a total of seven external dining facilities in which they could identify which they most desire to be established on SUNY Oswegos campus and which are least desire. The seven facilities are Moes, Sbarros, Wendys, Tim Hortons, Friendlys, Subway, and Dunkin Donuts. Facilities that received an average score closest to 1 were considered most desired and facilities that received an average score closest to 7 were considered least desired. Wendys was discovered to be the most desired facility to be established on SUNY Oswegos campus by its students (m=2.59, s=1.42). Friendlys was found to be the least desired (m=5.33, s=1.37). Figure 5: Breakdown of External Dining Facilities Desirability Wendys Subway 2.59 2.70 1.42 1.86 Moes 3.19 2.37 Tim Hortons 4.95 1.88 Sbarros Friendlys D. Donuts 5.15 5.33 4.44 1.51 1.39 1.40

Mean Std. Dev.

Research objective 3: The researchers wish to explore the relationship between students consumer satisfaction with established dining facilities on campus and the rate at which they choose food options outside of campus. In order to discover if a students satisfaction with the campus dining facilities associated with the rate at which that student chooses food option outside of campus, a Pearson Product Moment Correlation was performed. By running this correlational test involving average consumer satisfaction scores and number of times a week the participant reported to have chosen

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food options outside of campus, it was discovered that a significant association does not exist between the two variables (r=.1, n=27). Figure 6: Correlational Test between Consumer Satisfaction Scores and Number of Time External Food Options are Chose per Week

Consumer Satisfaction Scores

Times per week external food options are chosen

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Conclusion

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Following the analysis of data collected in the aforementioned pilot study, the researchers can come up with several conclusions as to consumer satisfaction with regard to SUNY Oswegos dining facilities. A mean score of consumer satisfaction for this pilot study has been established as 4.98. The researchers can conclude that SUNY Oswego Students were satisfied to a certain level. It can be concluded that students are satisfied by considering the normal distribution of scores based on a scale of 1-7, 4 is a neutral, and the average is on the positive side. Next the researchers were able to analyze consumer satisfaction scores reported for specific dining facilities. The researchers were able to conclude that Lakeside Dining had the highest satisfaction rate with an average of 5.42 and Littlepage Dinning reported the highest consumer satisfaction scores (m=5.42). After a comparison of means between the dining facility which reported the highest consumer satisfaction scores and the facility which received the lowest (Littlepage, m=4.33), no significant differences were found. This observation lends support to the notion that the individual experiences provided by each dining hall may significantly influence overall satisfaction of the consumer. Finally, Researchers have taken into account the highs and lows of each dining hall. With a proportion of 48.1% scoring a range considered to be high, and 51.9% scoring in a low range, overall statements regarding consumer satisfaction are otherwise inconclusive. A full scale study with a much larger sample size would yield a proportion in which the researchers can make conclusive statements about the results. The researchers discovered that Wendys is most desired facility with average of 2.59 and Friendlys was found to be the least desired with an average of 5.33. Additionally, the relationship between consumer satisfaction scores and the number of times per week an individual chooses options outside of campus was explored. Through a correlation test, it was
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found that students satisfaction with the on campus dining halls is not influenced by how often they choose options outside of campus. This observation lends support to the notion that the addition of an external dining facility to SUNY Oswegos may increase the satisfaction of its consumers. However, as previously stated, a larger study will yield more valid results.

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Limitations

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Throughout the course of the research, several limitations were encountered that limited the results of the pilot study. A few minor variations throughout the study could have yielded results in which the researcher would have been be more confident in forming conclusions from. When distributing the surveys to the undergraduate students, it was unknown if the students previously had a biased opinion about the dining halls on the SUNY Oswego campus. Many students that were surveyed may have worked at a dining hall on campus, which would result in biased data. Also, a small number of the surveys that were filled out had to be discarded due to the fact that the same answer was circled for every question or certain questions werent completed at all. The majority of the surveys that were distributed were to male participants. This limited the results to a great extent since we did not have an equal ratio of male to female participants. The results were based strictly off what males thought about the dining halls on campus, which is not a valid method of retrieving information since the answers were limited to a specific gender. Since the pilot study was very small and only 30 individuals were surveyed, the possibility of obtaining the opinions of faculty and graduate students was denied. Since faculty and graduate students are consumers of the dining halls on campus, the data that was provided did not consist of all of the consumers that utilize the SUNY Oswego dining halls. The conclusion of the results that were obtained could have been misled due to the fact that the pilot study that was conducted was very small. Only one participant in the study utilized Mackin dining hall. Due to lack of participation, Mackin was omitted from the pilot study. Additional research is advised for future research pertaining to consumer satisfaction of SUNY Oswegos dining facilities. Had in-depth interviews be performed instead of physically distributing the surveys to participants, the researchers would have more reliable data to properly measure consumer satisfaction. An additional measure that would contribute to more valid results within this study is the performance of follow-up research. The researchers would have been more confident in the results that were provided since perceptions of satisfaction change depending on the experiences the participants have

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each time that they visit the dining halls. The results from the pilot study were used to lend support to the undertaking of a full-scale consumer satisfaction study of SUNY Oswego dining facilities.

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Appendix

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Questionnaire (Participant Copy) Please check below which dining center that you utilize most often and base your answers to the following questions regarding the dining center you chose. ____Lakeside ____Cooper ____Pathfinder ____Littlepage ____Mackin

Please indicate your position on the following statements by selecting a number ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) through 7 (strongly agree) Strongly Disagree Disagree Disagree Somewhat Neutral Agree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

Employees of SUNY Oswegos dining centers are courteous with their customers. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Customers can be confident that safe food practices are followed in the preparation and service of food. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SUNY Oswegos dining centers have visually appealing dining areas. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SUNY Oswegos dining centers are consistent with their food service. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

The food presentation at SUNY Oswegos dining centers is appealing. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

At SUNY Oswegos dining centers, items on the printed menus are available throughout the service period. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SUNY Oswegos dining centers give customers individual attention.

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Strongly Disagree Disagree

Disagree Somewhat

Neutral

Agree Somewhat

Agree

Strongly Agree

SUNY Oswegos dining centers effectively communicate service hours. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Employees of SUNY Oswegos dining centers are able to answer questions about the menu, ingredients, and methods of preparation. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

The dining areas of SUNY Oswegos dining centers are thoroughly clean. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

The portion sizes offered at SUNY Oswegos dining centers are appropriate. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SUNY Oswegos dining centers have operating hours convenient for all their customers. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Employees of SUNY Oswegos dining centers are willing to help customers. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SUNY Oswegos dining centers offer a variety of food choices. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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Thank you for your participation in this research. Please place an X next to the option which best describes you: Gender: ____ Female ____ Male _____ N/A

Please fill in your age: _______

Place an X next to the option that best describes you: ____ Freshmen Do you live on campus? : ____ Sophomore ____ Yes ____ Junior ____ No ____ Senior

Place an X next to the statement which best describes your situation: ______ I have purchased a full board meal plan this semester. ______ I have purchased an AnyPlan (12) meal plan this semester. ______ I have purchased an AnyPlan (9) meal plan this semester. ______ I have purchased an AnyPlan (7) meal plan this semester. ______ I have purchased an AnyPlan (5) meal plan this semester. ______ I have purchased an Any2 meal plan this semester. ______ I have purchased only Laker Dining Dollars this semester. ______ I have not purchased meal plan or Laker Dining Dollars this semester.

How many times during a typical week do you choose food options outside of those offered on campus (excluding those locations which participate in Laker Dining Dollars; Fajita Grill, Dominos, Sub Shop, Won Ton House, Zonies)? Please fill in a number: ___________ of times per week

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Please indicate which restaurants you would most desire to be established on SUNY Oswegos campus and which restaurants you would least desire by placing a number 1 (most desire) through 7 (least desire): ____ Wendys ____ Sub Way ____ Moes ____ Tim Hortons ____ Sbarros ____ Friendlys ____ Dunkin Donuts

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Mock-Up Tables Table 1: Average Total Consumer Satisfaction Scores N Mean Median Std. Dev. Minimum Maximum

Table 2: Customer Satisfaction Scores According to Dining Hall Dining Hall Lakeside Cooper Pathfinder Littlepage Mackin N Mean Std. Dev. Minimum Maximum

Table 3: Crosstabulation of High and Low CS Scores According to Dining Hall Dining Hall Lakeside Cooper Pathfinder Littlepage Mackin Total: High Low

Table 4: Breakdown of External Dining Facilities Desirability Wendys Subway Mean Std. Dev. Moes Tim Hortons Sbarros Friendlys D. Donuts

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SPSS Survey Code Book Variable Label and Description I.D. Number 01 Satisfaction with Cleanliness 1 Strongly disagree 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 7 Strongly agree Satisfaction with Safe-Food Practices 1 Strongly disagree 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 7 Strongly agree Satisfaction with Facility Appearance 1 Strongly disagree 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 7 Strongly agree Satisfaction with Food Appearance Availability 1 Strongly disagree 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 7 Strongly agree Satisfaction with Employee Knowledge 1 Strongly disagree 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 7 Strongly agree Satisfaction with Operating Hours 1 Strongly disagree 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 7 Strongly agree Satisfaction with Communication Service Hours 1 Strongly disagree 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 7 Strongly agree Variable Name Variable Width

ID T1

27 6

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

R1

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Satisfaction with Consistency in Food Choices 1 Strongly disagree 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 7 Strongly agree Satisfaction with Availability of Printed Menu Items 1 Strongly disagree 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 7 Strongly agree Satisfaction with Employee Helpfulness 1 Strongly disagree 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 7 Strongly agree Satisfaction with Employee Courtesy 1 Strongly disagree 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 7 Strongly agree Satisfaction with Individual Attention Given 1 Strongly disagree 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 7 Strong disagree Satisfaction with Food Variety 1 Strongly disagree 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 7 Strongly disagree Satisfaction with Proportion Sizes 1 Strongly disagree 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 7 Strongly disagree Academic Status 1 Freshman 2 Sophomore 3 Junior 4 Senior

R2

R3

CR1

CR2

CR3

F1

F2

Q1

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Self-report Number of Times External Food Options are Chosen (Open-Ended) 1.00 just key-in the self-reported number Respondent's gender 1 female 2 male

Q2

Q3

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Sample Size Calculations Sample size formula: n = z2 s2 H2

Where: n= Sample size z= Desired confidence level (s=.79, s=1, s=1.21) s= Estimated standard deviation (95 %) H= Acceptable level of precision ( 10%)

Sample size estimates: Estimated standard deviation (s= .79): n = 1.962 .792 .032 n= 239

Estimated standard deviation (s=1): n = 1.962 12 .032 n= 384

Estimated standard deviation (s= 1.21): n = 1.962 1.212 .032 n= 562

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Proposed Schedule

Assignment Construct Questionnaire Obtain Identification Numbers from Dining Halls Make Revisions to Questionnaire Obtain E-mails that Correspond with I.D. Numbers from Registrars Office Upload Survey onto Survey Monkey Select Participants through Systematic Sampling Email Selected Participants Create SPSS Coding for Questionnaire Input Data into SPSS Analyze the Data Draw Conclusions from Data Draft Final Report Deliver Final Report

Commencement Date 7-Sept-12 13-Sep-t12 21-Sept-12 29-Sept-12

Completion Date 12-Sept-12 20-Sept-12 28-Sept-12 4-Oct-12

5-Oct-12 8-Oct-12 16-Oct-12 19-Oct-12 26-Oct-12 1-Nov-12 8-Nov-12 16-Dec-12 26-Nov-12

7-Oct-12 15-Oct-12 18-Oct-12 25-Oct-12 31-Oct-12 7-Nov-12 15-Nov-12 25-Nov-12 1-Dec-12

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References

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Oliver, R. L. (1994). Conceptual Issues in the Structural Analysis of Consumption Emotion, Satisfaction, and Quality: Evidence in a Service Setting. Advances in Consumer Research, 21(1), 16-22. Oliver, R. L. (1996). Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer. New York: McGraw Hill
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Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multi-item scale for measure consumer perceptions of the service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), 12-40. Raajpoot, N. (2002). TANGSERV: A multiple item scale for measuring tangible quality in foodservice industry. Journal of Food Service Business Research, 5(2), 109-127.

Soone, I. (2006). Dimensionality of Responses to Customer Satisfaction with Low-Involvement Low-Risk Frequent Purchases: the Example of Grocery Retailing. Working Papers In Economics, 19(141-144), 5-32.

Stevens, P., Knutson, B., & Patton, M. (1995). Dineserv: A tool for measuring service quality in restaurants. Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 36(2), 56-60. Yi, Y. (1990). A critical review of consumer satisfaction. Review of Marketing, Chicago: American Marketing Association.

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