Examining the level of customer satisfaction in Greek restaurants, using the customer's meal experience model

Abstract

The aim of this thesis was to examine the level of customer satisfaction in the Greek restaurants using the Customers Meal Experience Model (CMEM), which consists of five variables. The main objectives were to find out how significant each of the five variables contained in the CMEM model were in influencing customer satisfaction and if they have the same influence for all the members of a group that visits a restaurant. And since they visit the restaurant as a group, a secondary objective was to find out if the level of individual satisfaction with a restaurant experience varies from that of the collective satisfaction, and if the decision to revisit a given restaurant is a collective rather than an individual decision. The study was based on qualitative research as the most suitable approach for the nature of this study, and it used the focus group as a research tool for collecting the data. The qualitative approach used in this research was inspired by grounded theory. The results of the study show that the chosen model, on the whole, could be successfully applied to both cases. We have seen from the data analysis that not all the variables are equally significant for all members of a specific group. However, food and company have the greatest impact on the meal experience, then the atmosphere and the rest. Moreover, it was found that there were some elements that the model was missing, such as location, the price and the availability of a table in a restaurant. The results also show that the level of individual satisfaction varies from that of collective satisfaction; therefore, the decision to revisit a specific restaurant is a collective rather than an individual decision. The paper is structured into five main sections: the introduction, the literature review, the research methodology, the data analysis and discussion section, and the conclusions and recommendations section.