Literature Review

In general, the services are different from the products. The vital fact for the services are considered as things rather than processes. This shows that the production and the consumptions are partly simultaneous activities which the customers are seen to service production process. The services are further seen to be defined as the main form of the process rather than product. in particular relevance to product, the decisions are made from the marketing communications, distribution and pricing. In addition to this, service concept is seen to be critical which has been seen to be based on the different types of the aspects of the marketing communication, distribution and pricing. The service concept is dependent on the quality generating resources which will function and result as per the customer desire (Wen 2015).

The service industry growth has been seen to be having an important role on the economies.  The sharing of the service has been seen in the GDP with more than 70% in the developed countries. The customer service and perception are seen to be having an important role on the perception of the firms which are seen to be critical to the various type of the business activities. Doyle has been able to suggest on the shareholder value which is vital to the firms and for the success of the business. The research aspect has been further able to suggest on the different types of the issues which are seen to be related to the perception of the service quality. This has been also suggested by two important principles firstly to increase the value of the shareholders and secondly to build an amicable relation with the customers by accompanying with their needs. This has been further identified as an effective strategy for the competitors. The research has also suggested the firms to prepare the firms for coping up with the preferences. The restaurant is considered as a growing industry Malaysia with total employee strength of 1.31% employment done in the restaurants. The average expenditure in the hotels of Malaysia is 1.14% out of the total food expenditures (Karodia, Linganiso and Dube 2015).

The overall objective of the study has been further able to state on the crucial aspects of selection of the restaurants, dimensions highly weighted by the customers of the industry. The main objective will be beneficial for managing and delivery of the services in a better way of understanding the customer’s priorities. The main aspect of the study has been seen to be segregated in two sections. The first section has been able to address the important aspect of the conducting the survey and test the factors which is seen to be important for the selection of the restaurant but not yet identified for the other research. The second most important aspect of the research will; be able to identify the factors which are seen to be important for the customer’s in today’s perspective. The latter part of the discussion has been further able to consider the various types the aspects of the research which has been seen to be related to the how strategically the restaurants performed to devote the resources and the efforts at the right place which is according to the needs and wants (Bruwer, Arias and Cohen 2017).

Research Objectives

Some of the important aspects of the study has been preferences which are considered with pricing, restaurants selection, deals pertaining to promotion and quick service. Some of the other notable factors has been considered with delivery/serving timings, variety of foods, offerings in late night, friends gathering, brand image and cooperation of staff. Some of the other factors has been further seen to be discussed with the location of restaurant also been identified in previous various studies (Olise, Okoli and Ekeke 2015).

The most notable research questions are stated below as follows:

• How does age of the customer affect restaurant selection at UNITAR?
• Does the status of the person (student or otherwise) have affect restaurant selection?
• To what extent does different factors affect restaurant selection?
• To what extent are the factors of service quality have an importance in restaurant selection?
• To what extent are the factors of food quality have an importance in restaurant selection?

The most identified research hypothesis is stated below as follows:

• Age of the customer does not affect restaurant selection at UNITAR
• The status of the person (student or others) does not have any effect on restaurant selection
• The selection of restaurant at UNITAR does not depend on any factor
• The factors of service quality have no importance in restaurant selection
• The factors of food quality have no importance in restaurant selection

Introduction

It has been discerned that in general the customers are not able to express the factors affecting the selection of restaurants with ease. In the last two decades there has been several number of the studies which has been conducted with the different aspects of the service quality in the hospitality industry. The several aspects of the customer’s behaviour have been inferred with the appropriate service quality and perceptions. The various other researchers have been able to state on the aspects of the study relate with the differences among the perceptions expectations and perceptions of service quality. The various types of the research study have been able to state on dimensions for regarding the dimensions in regard of the service quality in the hotel industry. In the hotel industry there has been higher level interactions observed with customers who are especially seen with the interactions with the front-line employees. Henceforth, there has been higher chance of earning customer loyalty or losing the existing one (Azim et al. 2014).

In addition to this most of the restaurants are seen to be paying an augmented attention to the customer who are seen to be serving on a continuous basis for the outstanding quality. Most higher level of the customer loyalty has been evident with inseparability of the production and consumption process of services. The inseparability in the consumption and production aspects has been evident with the overall consumption process in cases of failures. In certain cases, if the nature of failure is seen to be persuasive in nature then, outcomes such as failure in customer confidence, negative word of mouth behavior and customer defection is seen to be evident with loss of revenue and increasing cost. The decreasing employee morale has been also evident with the various types of eh factors which has been seen with the direct evidence of the loss of revenue, increasing total cost and decrease in the overall morale and performance. The hotel industries which has been seen with the various types of the performance which has seen to be directly related to the affect the customer quality is evident with competitive marketplace with a greater potential; and consumers expectations of service quality. There have been several incidences observed for the tendency of switching alternatives. The important aspects of the identification of the most dominant factors is seen with maintaining the factors which can make the customers more loyal in nature and identify the more loyal factors which will make the customers loyal and the propensity of switching of the customers can be condensed (Jun, Arendt. and Kang 2016).

Research Questions

There have been several studies which has been able to indicate the preference of the customers for the selection of the restaurant. In addition, this, there has been various type of the other factors identifying the preference which are seen to be related to Price, menu, promotional deals and quick service. The important factors are also related to the factors which is associated to the variety in other factors such as the food quality, persuasive services, freshness factor and packing style. Some of the other factors affecting the quality has nee also followed with “late night offerings, friends gathering, environment of restaurant, brand image, cooperation of staff and location of restaurant “. There has been several number of the other studies which has been able to identify the effect of the customer decisions on the selection criteria of the restaurants.   The main reason for the effectiveness of the study has been further seen to be inferred with the influence of the customers in terms of the selection of the restaurant and factors considered for factors which are yet to be discovered for the effect on the consumer selection (Kang, Jun and Arendt 2015).

The main form of the semi structured nature of the interviews has bee able to highlight on the several types of the factors which has been seen with the direct influence on the profession and lifestyle of the people. The people were asked about the number of factors such as the factors which are uncovered for the factors which are previous stated for the selection of the consumers. The semi structure interviews have been segregated into two stages. The first stage of the interview has able to include different types of the people from varied range of lifestyle and profession. The average time of the interview has been seen to be analyzed. Some of the different types of the new factors has been also seen to be evident with the three main factors such as appropriate for the family gathering, preferential and privacy treatment and privacy. This is seen to be repeated in number of interviews. The second stage of the interview has been able to highlight on the number of different factors such as average time for the interview and demographic characteristics (Jun and Arendt 2016).

The miscellaneous factors have been seen to be evident with the different types of the factors which has seen to have direct relevance of the total number of waiters, complementary foods, high char for kids, customers relation management (supervised with employees and the customers and the consistency with the taste and quickness in process. The overall frequency of the factors has been seen to be considerably low for not been able to include the factors for the examination, which may be able to get the importance after sometime and in the years to come. The authors have been further seen with the various types factors such as examination of the questionnaire and factors influencing the restaurants (Lassen et al. 2016).

Research Hypotheses

Some of the main factors for the interviews which may adversely affect the image of the restaurant has been further seen to be taken into consideration with mood of the waiters. It has been generally depicted with the use of the several types of the ordinal scales which has been able to state on the degree of content of the customers which is directly related to the mood of the waiters. In case the behavior of the employees is not seen to be appropriate in nature then there has been with the several types of the problems which are seen to be taking place with the customer satisfaction. The other factors responsible for the image of the restaurant has been seen to be included with the different types of the factor which has been seen with the longer waiting time. The inappropriate process has been also seen as another contributing factor which is seen to be responsible for the main reason behind for the customer selection among the restaurants. The most unnoticed factors have been seen in restaurants has been often identified with the absence of inappropriate or poor process related to the selection of the customers.  Too much of crowding in the restaurants has been seen as the main factor for the which has been able to state on the degree of content of the customers which is directly related to the image of the hotel. In several instances the absence of separate family hall has been seen as the main factor for the selection customers. The recognized factors for the selection of the restaurants has been further seen to be stated with he different types of the reasons which has been seen with the direct relevance of the Differences in services for male and females. In several types of the different situations it has been observed that the Improper parking area and too much of noise in the restaurant has been see as the contributing factors for the adverse image of the restaurant. The restaurant needs to be particularly aware of the different types of the factors which has been seen with cooking smell (Josiam, Kalldin and Duncan 2015).

The literature provided in the various studies which is carried out with the different types of the other factors in detail, which has been seen to be answered with newly identified variables. Some of the main form of the variables has been considered with physical environment of the restaurant, cleanliness and quick service. Some of the main form of the remarks for the physical environment of the restaurant has been considered with crockery, interior, furniture and colors (Oh et al. 2015). The cleanliness consideration has been measured with the various factors such as crockery, food and cleanliness of the floor. The quick service aspect of the interview has been taken into account with order taking capability and time of serving. The cooperative behavior of the staff for the service type has been considered with the several types of the different types of the factors such as Persuasive, Polite, Mature & friendly. The privacy aspect has been maintained with the space between the chairs, tables which does not make any interference with the staff. The price aspect has been further seen to be taken into consideration with following of service and quality which is according to the service quality and food stuff. The location of the restaurants has been further seen to be taken onto account with the remarks such as wide parking area, providing a peaceful and noise free environment and the parking area should not be far away from prime locations (Kim and Ham 2016).

Methodology

The food taste and quality has been seen to be related to the several types of the factors which has been seen with Good unique taste and quality ingredients. The preferential treatment aspect has been seen to be considered with the preferential treatments with no regulars. The appropriate environment for the gathering of family has been seen to be taken into consideration by ensuring there has been no instance of use of bad language by the staff members which has something special for the attractive environment gathering and people in general. The brand image of the restaurants has been seen to be getting affected with the direct influence of the preference of the restaurant with other people. The total quality of the food items in the menu has been further seen to be taken into consideration with the several types of the factors which has been seen with the direct influence of the several types of the reasons for the customer selection in the restaurants. The brand image is further seen to be preferred by several types of the different factors responsible for the selection of the restaurant. It has been further taken into account that the presence of the other individuals in the restaurants has been seen to be taken into consideration with the several types of the other factors which has been seen with the General nature & behavior of the people, number of people (Jeong and Ham 2017).

The general privacy consideration has been further seen to be taken into consideration with the various types of the factors which has been seen with spatial encroachments and extended unwelcomed gaze or conversations which are acoustically loud in nature. The consideration of the three types of the privacy invasion has been seen with the privacy invasion and discomfort which is in the part of the level of intimacy and the circumstance of the relatives who were hoping for favorable and peaceful environment to spend some time. It needs to be further taken into account that the restaurants for the people needs to be considered for the refreshment, spouse, friends or relatives. This has been further seen to be based on the different types of the reasons related to the privacy gap as a result of the “little gap between the tables, unusual staring by the employee, frequent visits or interruption by the employee or any person taking images or making videos etc” (Min and Lee 2014).

Results

The main form of the preferential treatment of the implicit in the idea of relationship marketing is consumer “focus and consumer selectivity—that is, all consumers do not need to be served in the same way”. In general, the preferential treatment has been seen to be taken into account with the selection of the customers, however the only shortlisted customers have been seen to be dependent on the two broad categories seen with the loyal and the non-loyal customers. It has been further seen that the differentiation with the customers based on the loyalty basis, which allows the business to know about needs accordingly in the best possible way. The preferential treatment factor is taken into consideration in situations where the business is able to provide some sort of extra valuable, financial or non-financial information to the loyal customers in the hope of retaining the customers for a   longer duration. The preferential treatment has been seen to be taken into consideration with preferential treatment which is seen to be based on the consideration with the preferential treatment to serve the business by serving the loyal customers (Lessa et al. 2017).

The appropriate environment for the family gathering has been taken into account with the families who are seen to be visiting the restaurants not just for eating drinking but also for spending a quality time along with a pleasant environment. The general form of the expectation has been further seen to be related to the several factors which can be done by spending time in formal and sophisticated environment. In various countries the people are seen to be conscious about this particular issue. This environment is favorable for the family gathering positively impacting the customer’s selection of the restaurants (Nitiwanakul 2015).

Research Strategy

The main instrument used in the methodology has been seen with identifying the factors which will affect the customer selection in the restaurants. The questionnaire has been further seen to be prepared as per the various type the tools which has been seen to be developed for the interview. The various types of the results and the factors has been further seen to be based on the having equal or higher frequency. The five points of the likert scale has been seen to be ranging with “1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree”. The consideration of demographic characters of the respondents has been shown in the list of appendices (Mackey and Gass 2015).

Discussion

The population data of the study has been seen to be taken in terms of individuals of Malaysia. The various types of the collection of the data has been further seen to be taken into consideration with different walks of life. The total number of the respondents has been seen to be ranging with 200 respondents with total response rate of more than 91%. The presentation of the different types the of data has been further seen to be taken into consideration with the descriptive statistics technique. The summarization of the rend has been further seen to be depicted with the consideration of the various type the technique which has been seen with the percentage of the agreement and disagreement mark. The factors have been also related with the disagreement and agreement percentage. The positive impacts of the study have been further related with the various types of the previous studies (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015).

The research approach has been seen to be based on the application of the deductive approach. The use of this strategy has been seen to be conducive with the various types of the factors which has been seen with the testing of the hypothesis. The main form of the assumption of the deductive approach of the research has been seen with formulating the research hypothesis and identification of the appropriate theory. The main motive of the proceeding with the deductive approach is seen with the motive to avoid risk of carrying out the project. The research has been seen to be taken on consideration the various types of the factors which has been related to the quantitative research technique which has been seen to be evident with the use of structured questionnaire (Brinkmann 2014). The other considerations have been seen to be based on the use of the various types o the specific factors which has been seen to be related to the quantifying the responses based on the data analysis method. As the consumer base in Malaysia is seen to be large in appropriate nature. The main form of the quantitative research has been further able to evaluate the data as per the use of numerical and statistical analysis. The interpretations of the quantitative technique for the research has been able to explain the process with appropriate procedure (Silverman 2016).

The research strategy has been further seen to be based on the depiction which has been seen to be made in the various types of the theories which has been based on the sample data of the online retail collection of the business. The evaluation and the response has been further seen to taken into consideration with the evaluation of the varied depiction of the data which has seen to be based on the unreliability of the information. It has been further seen to be discerned that the use of the different types of the methods used for understanding of the hypothesis of the research report. This hypothesis has been directly seen to be related to the factors which has seen to be pre-determined in the literature review of the study. The feasibility study has been further seen to be evaluated as per the use of the various types of the information which has been related to the understanding of the factors affecting the purchase in the restaurants (Panneerselvam 2014).

Conclusion

It has been further discerned that the sample size selected for the research for the research has been seen to be ranging among 200 participants. The application of the important form of the data analysis technique has been seen to be considered with data extracted with the various types of the techniques which has been evaluated with the questionnaire of the study circulated in Malaysia.

The main form of the sampling strategy has been considered with the main form of the possibilities as per the response of the research subjects. The strategy for sampling has been seen to be based on the larger group of the people. The main form of the calculation for the research study has been seen to be based on the main customers of the restaurants. The sampling procedure for the research is further seen to be appropriate amount with the selection which has been seen to be taken into consideration with the respondents of the sample of population. The main form of the consideration random sampling is considered with the participants of Malaysia. The main form of the margin of error has been seen with 5% significance level. The research has been further able to consider the total population of the country. The using of online website has been able to identify the probability of each member and inclusion of simple random sampling. In this scenario it has been seen that the different types the aspects of the identification of the probability of each member which is associated to being selected with the simple random sampling. The total population size of the respondents has been seen to be taken with 200 respondents (Gast and Ledford 2014).

The vital aspect of the data collection methods has been further able to reveal that the two main categories for the data collection has been based on the primary and secondary method. The primary data analysis has been taken into account with the structured questionnaire. This questionnaire has been seen to be prepared as per allowing the direct responses from the consumers.  The printed copy of the questionnaire has been considered with the opinion given by public and in several locations, such as public places, malls and streets. The secondary analysis of the literature review has been considered with the literature review of the study. The vital aspects of the research have been able to show the secondary research which has been able to depict the important aspects of the study which has been further able to show the direct response taken from the consumers (Neuman and Robson 2014).

The simplification of the analysis process has been seen to be based on the various types the important aspects of the report which has been based on categorization as per “gender, occupation and Country of origin”.  The response of the participants has been seen to be distributed and maintained in MS Excel. The important form of the analysis of the data has been further seen to be based on the significant factors which has been to be taken into consideration with the hypothesis of the study. The overall analysis of the data has been further taken into consideration with the data which has been made available for the support (Blumberg, Cooper and Schindler 2014).

The specific measures have been seen to be taken into consideration with the varied measures and information collected from the research study. The important criteria for the research has been further seen to be considered with the different types of the measures which has been seen to be followed with the regular consumers and people residing in Malaysia. The different types of the consideration of the reliable sources of the data has been further able to state on the differ types the specific aspects of the report which has been based on the use of both secondary and primary data. The second method for the reliability of the data has been seen with eligibility of the participation in the survey. The main form of the data has been seen to be taken into account with the various types of the method which has been to be taken into effect with the increase or the decrease of the merger activity. The merger and the acquisition process has been seen to be taken into consideration with the efficiency and profitability with the factors applicable to the conducted survey (Bauer 2014).         

The segregation of the analysis of the data has been seen to be done as per the selection of cardinal, nominal, ratio and interval scale. It has been further seen that the use of the cardinal scale has been segregated with the use of the data as per the responses such as agree, strongly agree, neutral, disagree and completely disagree (Billig and Waterman 2014).

The chapter presents the analysis of the collected survey data. At first, the chapter presents the socio-demographic profile of the customers at UNITAR. Next we proceed to analyse the factors that influence restaurant selections amongst the students at UNITAR. Using descriptive and predicting analytics we pinpoint the significance of the variables responsible for restaurant selection. Finally, we present a discussion of the findings and its relation with the previous done work on factors influencing restaurant selection.   

200 completed survey questionnaires were found fit to be analysed for the present analysis. The initial part of the survey consisted of the study of the socio demographic profile of the students / customers at the restaurant at UNITAR. A descriptive study of the socio demographic profile of the respondents showed that 40% were males as against 60% being females.

Further, 58% of the respondents were found to be India. The percentage of Malay respondents was found to be 21.5%. Other’s constituted 7% of the respondents.

Most (50.5%) of the respondents were found to be in the age group of 20 – 25 years. Only, 7.0% of the respondents were found to be in above 30 years of age.

The investigation into the education of the respondents found that 38% were Post-graduate’s at UNITAR. 4.5% and 5.0% of the respondents were doing foundation and other courses at UNITAR.

In addition, 49% of the customers at the restaurant were students while 51.0% of the respondents were not students. 

Figure 1: Gender and Nationality of the respondents

Figure 2: Age Group and Educational Status of the respondents

Figure 3: Background of the respondents

Restaurant Selection

In this section we present the responses towards the factors influencing restaurant selection process.

The variables used to study the restaurant selection process are Price, Food Quality, Trustworthiness of food, Service quality and environment of the restaurant and ambience.

The analysis shows that 35.5% of the respondents feel that the price at the restaurants have an average importance. In addition, 43% of the customers at the restaurants feel that Price has an importance.

The importance of Food quality in the selection of a restaurant is highlighted by 58.5% of the customers. Food quality has least importance for 19% of the customers.

According to 52.5% of the customers the food should be trustworthy i.e., be Halal certified. An equal number of the customers (52%) have an average outlook towards halal food. Moreover, for 21.5% of the customer’s halal food is not very important.

The service quality in the restaurant selection process is important for 59% of the customers. On the other hand, 17.5% of the customers feel that service quality is not very important.

Restaurant environment is important for 61% of the customers at UNITAR. For 60.5% of the customers the ambience plays an important role.

Table 1: Response to Restaurant Selection of the customers

Restaurant Selection	Very Poor	Poor	Average	Good	Very Good
Price	8.0%	13.5%	35.5%	33.5%	9.5%
Food quality	8.5%	10.5%	22.5%	37.5%	21.0%
Trustworthiness (Halal)	7.5%	14.0%	26.0%	34.5%	18.0%
Service quality	4.0%	13.5%	23.5%	42.0%	17.0%
Restaurant environment	4.5%	10.0%	24.5%	40.5%	20.5%
Ambience	3.0%	16.0%	20.5%	43.0%	17.5%

Figure 4: Response towards Restaurant Selection

The service quality in the selection process of the restaurants is assessed.

The variables used to study the service quality is evaluated through Efficiency, Friendliness, Helpfulness of Staff and the hours of operation of the restaurant.

The analysis shows that 57% of the customers feel that the efficiency of the staff should be good. On the other hand, only 16% found that the efficiency of the staff at the restaurant is poor.

Moreover, 61.5% and 62.5% of the customers felt that the staff at the restaurant were friendly and helpful respectively. On the other hand, 15% and 14% of the customers felt that the staff were poor in terms of friendliness and helpfulness respectively.

According to 66% of the customers the number of hours of operation at the restaurant is important for selecting a restaurant.

Table 2: Summary of Response towards Service Quality

Service Quality	Very Poor	Poor	Average	Good	Very Good
Efficiency of Staff	8.5%	7.5%	27.0%	38.5%	18.5%
Friendliness of Staff	6.0%	9.0%	22.5%	39.0%	23.5%
Helpfulness of Staff	4.5%	9.5%	23.5%	41.5%	21.0%
Hours of Operation	4.5%	9.0%	25.0%	41.0%	20.5%

Figure 5: Response towards Service Quality

Food

The variables used to study the food at the restaurant are Variety of Food, Appearance of Food, Fresh Food and Healthy menu choices.

The variety of food is important for 56.0% of the customers. However, 22.5% of the customer think that the variety of food is poor in the selection process.

Similarly, for 58.5% and 64.5% of the customers the appearance of food and fresh food is essential in the selection of a restaurant. On the other hand, 15.5% of the customers believe that neither the appearance of food nor fresh food is essential in the selection process.

Moreover, for 56.5% customers the choice of a healthy menu at the restaurant is important for selection of the restaurant.

Table 3: Summary of Response towards Food Quality

Food	Very Poor	Poor	Average	Good	Very Good
Variety of Food	6.5%	16.0%	21.5%	37.0%	19.0%
Appearance of Food	8.0%	7.5%	26.0%	37.5%	21.0%
Fresh Food	7.0%	8.5%	20.0%	37.0%	27.5%
Healthy menu choices	7.5%	14.0%	22.0%	35.5%	21.0%

 

Figure 6: Response towards Food Quality

To test the internal consistency of the variables the most commonly used test is the Cronbach’s alpha. To measure the internal consistency (reliability) of the variables under study according to researchers the value of Cronbach’s alpha should be more than or equal to 0.7 (Field, 2013).

Table 4: Summary of Reliability of the responses

Variables	Cronbach’s alpha	N of items
Restaurant Selection	0.879	6
Service Quality	0.822	4
Food	0.859	4
Overall	0.870	3

The variables in the factors were found to be highly reliable. The factor restaurant selection had a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.879 while for Service quality the reliability was found to be 0.822. Since the value’s measuring the internal consistency were found to be more than 0.7 hence it can be said that the variables in the factors are highly reliable. Moreover, the overall reliability of the factors is calculated as 0.870. Thus, the variables under study were highly reliable.

Karl Pearson Correlation is used to test the correlation between two variables. The strength of the correlation depends on the distance between 0 and 1. The higher the number the more correlated are the two variables.

Table 5: Correlation amongst the factors of Restaurant Selection

Amongst the various factors used to study the restaurant selection process we find that the environment of a restaurant is strongly correlated with the service quality (r = 0.655) at 0.01 level of significance. Similarly, the service quality is strongly correlated with the trustworthiness of the restaurant (r = 0.652).

Table 6: Correlation amongst the factors of Service Quality

Moreover, the friendliness of the staff is strongly correlated with the efficiency of the staff (r = 0.603). The hours of operation of service of the restaurant is moderately correlated with friendliness of the staff (r = 0.438).

Table 7: Correlation amongst the factors of Food Quality

For food quality, there is a strong correlation between healthy menu choices and Appearance of food (r = 0.689) at 0.01 level of significance. In addition, healthy menu choices are strongly related to fresh food (r = 0.649).

Hypothesis 1:  Age of the customer does not affect restaurant selection at UNITAR

The analysis of the responses of the customers shows that there is statistically significant differences in age group when it comes to restaurant selection (p-value = 0.001, a-value = 0.05). The age group of 25 – 30 years has the highest influence on restaurant selection.

Hypothesis 2:  The status of the person (student or others) does not have any effect on restaurant selection.

The above analysis shows that there is statistically no significant differences in restaurant selection between student and others (p = 0.879 at 0.05 level of significance).

Hypothesis 3:  The selection of restaurant at UNITAR does not depend on any factor

Table 10: Factors affecting Restaurant Selection

The above analysis presents the relation of factors of restaurant selection. From the above results we find that the environment at the restaurant is the most important factor in selection of the restaurant. The trustworthiness (Halal) of the food is the least significant factor in restaurant selection. In addition, the factors of Price, Food quality, Trustworthiness (Halal), Service quality, Restaurant environment and Ambience statistically significantly related with restaurant selection (p-value < 0.001 at 0.05 level of significance).

Moreover, 94.4% of the variability in restaurant selection can be predicted from the variables.

Hypothesis 4:  The factors of service quality have no importance in restaurant selection

The above analysis presents the relation of factors of service quality in selection of restaurant. The above results show that helpfulness of the staff is the most important factor in service quality of the restaurant. The hours of operation of restaurants is the least significant factor in the service quality. However, Efficiency, Friendliness, Helpfulness of Staff and Hours of Operation are statistically significantly related to service quality (sig < 0.001 at 0.05 level of significance).

Moreover, 95.1% of the variability in service quality can be predicted from the variables.

Hypothesis 5:  The factors of food quality have no importance in restaurant selection

The above analysis presents the relation of factors of food quality in selection of restaurant. The above results show that Appearance of the food is the most important factor in food quality when it comes to restaurant selection. The variety of food at the restaurants is the least significant factor in food quality. However, Variety, Appearance of Food, Fresh Food and Healthy menu choices are all statistically significantly related to service quality (sig < 0.001 at 0.05 level of significance).

Moreover, 96.1% of the variability in service quality can be predicted from the variables.

The analysis of the data shows that most of the customers at the restaurants at UNITAR are females. In addition, the customers at the restaurant are a mix of all ages. There are not only students but also other customers who come to the restaurants to have good food at the restaurants. Moreover, most of the students were found to be doing post-graduation at the university.  Very few numbers of students doing foundation course were also at the restaurant.

The analysis of the survey data shows that the environment is the most important factor for selection of the restaurant. The next most important factor responsible is the Ambience at the restaurant. The Price of foods is the least most important factor when selecting a restaurant.

The friendliness and helpfulness of the staff at the restaurant play a very important in the service quality of a restaurant. According to the customers, the efficiency of the staff is the least important factor when it comes to service quality.

In response to the food quality for selecting a restaurant the survey found that presence of fresh food was the most important reason for the selection of the restaurant.

Further, from the survey we find that the age of the customers plays a very important role in the selection of a restaurant. Most of the customers at UNITAR are middle-aged students doing PG courses. In addition, the criteria for selecting a restaurant do not depend on the background of the customer (student or other).     

In this chapter we draw a conclusion to the present research. The research concerned the factors responsible for selection of restaurant at UNITAR. Some recommendations are provided which can be implemented by the restaurants to increase the number of customers.

Conclusion

At UNITAR there are various restaurants which serve the students and others. The selection of a restaurant by the student is dependent upon several factors. The present research was done to survey the preferences of the students in the selection of a restaurant. The research highpoints of the present survey are:

• Most of the students found to be visiting the restaurant were in the age group of 20 – 25 years
• Most of the students at the restaurant are either doing PG or Bachelor’s at UNITAR.
• The restaurant environment plays the most important role when selecting the restaurant.
• The trustworthiness (Halal) is the least important reason in the selection process.
• The helpfulness of the staff at the restaurants ensure a better service quality
• The service quality of the restaurant is due to the friendliness of the staff
• Most of the students are at the restaurant due to the presence of Fresh food
• The students in the age group of 20 – 25 years influences the restaurant selection the most
• The restaurant selection process for students and others are the same

From the analysis of the factors influencing selection of restaurant by a customer the following recommendations can be done:

• The analysis shows that restaurant environment is the most important variable for the selection of the restaurant. Hence, the restaurants should strive to keep the environment inside the restaurant conducive for the customers. This would ensure that the restaurant has repeat customers.
• Further the restaurant should always strive to have friendly and helpful staff. The friendly and helpful nature of the staff ensures that the customers get satisfied services from the restaurant. When the customer is satisfied the restaurant would be able to draw more customers through spread of word.
• The analysis of the survey data highlighted the fact that fresh food is essential when selecting a restaurant. Thus, it should be ensured by the restaurants that they always have fresh food.
• The analysis has shown that the selection of the restaurant depends on the age group of the customer. In addition, the influence of the customer between the age of 25 – 30 years is the highest. Hence it should be ensured that all customers are served similarly. In addition, the restaurant similarly should not differentiate between students and others (blue collar) for their services.

In the present research we have considered factors for the selection of a restaurant. Ambience of the restaurant as well as service quality of the restaurant can be researched separately to understand the choice of the customers. Further research can study how ambience or service quality varies with age of the customer, nationality or background of the customer (student or blue collar). Further research on the subject can aid the restaurants in providing customer specific services.

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