A Comparison of the Service Quality Perspectives Between Restaurant Customers and Restaurateurs in Taiwan

The object of this study is to compare the different perspectives with regard to service quality between restaurant customers and restaurateurs in Taiwan. The sample included 1,084 restaurant customers and 117 restaurateurs. Seven domains of service quality perspectives were developed for restaurant customers and eight for restaurateurs. Restaurant customers and restaurateurs held different perspectives toward factors of service quality. Cluster analysis was conducted to explore travelers' and restaurateurs' perspectives of restaurant service quality and to homogeneously group the sample to different segments. The study also examined whether service quality perspectives differed across segments. Three mutually exclusive segments of restaurant customers were identified and found to differ in three service quality factors. Two restaurateurs' segments were identified and found there were significant differences. The managerial implications of these findings for the foodservice industry and researchers are discussed.