Hygiene Factors Influencing Customers' Choice of Dining‐out Units: Findings From a Study of University Academic Staff

This study investigates factors influencing customers' choice of dining‐out units after a test of validity and reliability of the questionnaire. The study was conducted at a private university with a 243‐member academic staff in Ankara, Turkey. Results show that the most important influences on this choice are hygienic factors, primarily of cleanliness, including cleanliness of the restaurant, food, china and cutlery, service personnel, toilet and lavatory and kitchen. Differences in dining out choice factors were found on the basis of gender, age groups and marital status. The second most important choice factor is cleanliness of china and cutlery for males, while this factor was not important for female respondents. Widowed and divorced groups' responses were found to differ from those of married and single respondents. Cleanliness of toilets and lavatory was found important among married and single groups, while this factor was unimportant for the widowed and divorced.