Infl uence of demographic variables on customers’ experiences in formal full-service restaurants in Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Abstract

Th e purpose of this article was to determine the infl uence of demographic variables on customers’ experiences in formal full-service restaurants in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Th e questionnaires were distributed at selected formal full-service restaurants, and a total of 400 questionnaires were included in the statistical analysis. Th e data analysis consisted of the experiences of respondents with diff erent demographic variables, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-tests. Th e results indicated that on a 5 point Likert scale, respondents’ mean experience scores varied between 3.84 and 4.53. Customers of diff erent genders rated experiences of service signifi cantly diff erently (p<0.05). Customers from diff erent age groups rated their experiences of food and beverage, service and overall experiences signifi cantly diff erently (p<0.05). Customers from different monthly income groups rated their experiences of food and beverage, service and overall experiences signifi cantly diff erent (p<0.05). Customers with diff erent levels of education rated their experiences for food and beverage, service and overall experiences signifi cantly diff erent (p<0.05). Consequently, the experiences of customers for food and beverages and service were infl uenced by their gender, age, monthly income and level of education. Formal full-service restaurateurs should therefore focus on customers’ gender, age, monthly income and level of education in order to improve customer experiences and gain a competitive advantage over other restaurant categories.