Literature Review

This part deliberately presented the different views of authors, findings from previous studies, and varied
ideas from research writers regarding canteen service quality and student satisfaction. The readings
were carefully chosen as to its significant contribution to the purpose of this study. Also, the shared views
enriched the discussion of this study and gave the researcher a wider understanding and
perceptions about this present inquiry.

Canteen Service Quality

The concept of quality is difficult to define because quality means different things to different
people. The way one customer will experience a product or service is not the same way another will
experience it. Quality can be categorized in terms of various perspectives like judgment, product, user,
value or manufacturing perspective [12]. With the judgment perspective, the quality of a product cannot
be defined but one can recognize it one he sees it. The user perspective is about how the needs of a
customer are met.

In the study of Jun, Yang, and Kim [25], they identified the key underlying dimensions of online retailing
service quality as perceived by online customers. The findings showed that the access dimension had a
significant effect on overall service quality, but not on satisfaction. It was concluded that a significantly
positive relationship between overall service quality and satisfaction. Furthermore, Tsiotsou [48]
investigated the effect of various perceived quality levels on product involvement, overall satisfaction
and purchase intentions. The findings of the study are perceived perceptions of product quality were
significantly related to all the variables under investigation. Finally concluded perceived quality explained
more of the variance in overall satisfaction than in product involvement and purchase intentions.

Kasper, Helsdingen, and Gabbott [27] view there are five service characteristics that determine how
service quality is achieved. The first is the inability to own the service the way one would own a product.
Quality assessment can only be made after the service has been purchased. The second
characteristic is the intangibility of services that make it impossible to assess what is being offered
and the quality of what has been delivered. The third characteristic of service delivery is the
inseparability of the service from the people involved in its production and consumption. The customer
is a participant in the process and therefore this has an effect on the output received. If the customer is not
cooperative lower quality may be achieved. The fourth characteristic of services is heterogeneity or
variance of the service from time to time. This means that sometimes the service is good while at other
times it may be poor. Perishability is the fifth characteristic of the service delivery that affects service
quality. If it is not managed well it may mean long waiting lines or no people in the queue at all which the
customer interprets as low quality.
In addition, a service is an activity which has some element of intangibility associated with it which
involves some interaction with customers or with property in their possession, and does not result in
a transfer of ownership. A change in condition may occur and production of the service may or may not be
closely associated with a physical product. In simple terms services are deeds, processes, and
performances [55].

Another study conducted by Kyoon yoo and Ah park [30] about determining the relationships among
employees perceived service quality, customers and financial performance. The findings of the study
revealed that employee training has an influence on perceived service quality. They concluded that
management may keep the consistency and reliability of perceived service quality by increasing the
capability of employee through training and a shared understanding.
Tangibility. This determinant is related to the appeal of facilities, equipment and material used by a
service firm as well as to the appearance of service employees [16]. Besides, representing the service
physically tangibles are the appearance of physical facilities, equipment’s, personnel, and communication
materials. Tangibles provide physical representations or image of the service that customers, particularly
new customers, will use to evaluate quality [17].
Assurance. This means that staffs’ behavior will give customers confidence in the school canteen
and that the canteen makes customers feel safe. It also means that the employees are always
courteous and have the necessary knowledge to respond to customers’ questions *16]. This is
especially critical where trust and confidence in the service provider are crucial. The assurance perceived
by customers is an important dimension of service quality in any industry but even more so in the health
care industry where customers associate quality with perceptions of human factors [4].

On the other hand, Dehbidi, Salimifard, & Abdollahzadeh [9] investigated an innovative study that focuses
on the quality of dimensions which is more attracted by customers. The obtained results from this
research showed that courtesy and politeness dimension existed among staff and customers had the
highest score which indicates the importance of this dimension from the staff and customers’
viewpoint. The lowest score belonged to tangible requirements that both groups of participants had the
same opinion. Reliability. This means that the service firm provides its customers with accurate service the
first time without making any mistakes and delivers what it has promised to do by the time that has been
agreed upon [16]. Likewise, it is defined as be fundamentally concerned with issues of consistency of
measures [6]. Moreover, it is the ability to deliver expected standard at all time, how the organization
handle customer services problem, performing right services for the first time, providing services within
promised time and maintaining error free record. Reliability consists of accurate order of fulfilment,
accurate record, accurate quote, accurate billing, and accurate calculation of commissions which
keep the service promising to the customer [54].
Additionally, it is also defined as the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. ‚In
its broadest sense, reliability means that the company delivers on its promises—promises about
delivery, service provision, problem resolution, and pricing‛. Customers need to do business with
companies that keep their promises. Of the five dimensions, reliability has been consistently shown to be
the most important determinant of perception of service quality gap [17].
Responsiveness. This means that the employees of a service firm are willing to help customers and
respond to their requests a well as to in-form customers when service will be provided, and then give
prompt service [16]. Besides, it refers to the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service‛.
This dimension is concerned with dealing with the customer’s requests, questions and complaints promptly
and attentively. A firm is known to be responsive when it communicates to its customers how long it would
take to get answers or have their problems dealt with. To be successful, companies need to look at
responsiveness from the view point of the customer rather than the company’s perspective [17].
Empathy. This means that the school or firm understands customers’ problems and performs in
their best interests as well as giving customers individual personal attention and having convenient
operating hour [16].Also, it means carrying individual attention to customers including the features of
sensitivity, approachability and understanding customers’ needs. The aspects of empathy, which could
bring about higher levels of customer satisfaction, are providing personalized care and concern, the
ability to anticipate a customer’s need and make him or her feel special [19]. Furthermore, treating
customers as individuals’ individualized attention that the firm provides its customers, the essence of
empathy is conveying, through personalized or customized service, that customers are unique and special
and that their needs are understood. Customers want to feel understood by and important to firms that
provide service to them [17].
Student Satisfaction
Elliott & Shin [11] defined student satisfaction as the favorability of a student’s subjective evaluation of
the various outcomes and experiences associated with education‛. While most student satisfaction study
focus on the perspective of customer, researchers is facing a problem of creating a standard
definition for student satisfaction thus providing a need of customer satisfaction theory to be
selected and modified so that it can explain the meaning of student satisfaction [21]. Even though it
is risky to view students as customer, but given the current atmosphere of higher education
marketplace, there is a new moral prerogative that student have become ‚customer‛ and therefore can,
as fee payers, reasonably demand that their views be heard and acted upon [50].

According to Kursunluoglu [31] customer services are intangible or tangible value increasing activities
which are related with products or services indirectly or directly to meet customer expectations and then
to provide customer satisfaction and loyalty. Research shows that 68% of all customers do not
return for repeat business because of an attitude of indifference on behalf of the employee serving
them [22]. Retailers must provide excellent customer services to customer for enable to meet customers’
expectation. It has been shown by empirical studies that the key difference between customer
satisfaction and service quality is that satisfaction reflects customers’ experiences with that service,
while quality relates to managerial delivery of the service. The level of a service quality can be determined
based on the amount that paid for the service [45].

Customer satisfaction, as noted by Jashireh, Slambolchi, and Mobarakabadi [23], is a customer's

perspective based on expectation and then subsequent post purchase experience‛. In other words, it
is an evaluation of products or services quality level that meets or exceeds the customer expectations.
Satisfaction as a term means the feeling an individual gets when his or hers wishes, expectations
or needs are fulfilled, and the pleasant feeling that follows from it. As satisfaction is a feeling, it resides in
the user’s mind and differs from other observable behaviors, such as complaining, product choice
and repurchasing [20]. Satisfaction and dissatisfaction are two ends of a continuum, where the location
is defined by a comparison between expectations and outcome. Customers would be satisfied if the
outcome of the service meets expectations. When the service quality exceeds the expectations, the service
provider has won a delighted customer. Dissatisfaction will occur when the perceived overall service quality
does not meet expectations [50].

Mauri and Minazzi [36] highlighted that customer satisfaction is the result of comparison between
customer’s expectations and customer perceptions. In other words customer satisfaction is seen as the
deference between excepted quality of service and customers’ experience or perceptions after receiving
the service.
If the atmosphere of the restaurant does not comfort the customers and they do not return for
another dining experience, the staff has not created a service that satisfies the emotional, psychological
and cognitive needs of the customers [34].

According to Klassen et al. [29] purchase decision that made by students will consider about the price. The
good value of price, portion size, reasonable price and overall value of dinning is categorized into
price. When perceived price is low, the perceived satisfied will be low. Food quality is a quality
characteristic of food and then consumers can be acceptable [37]. Food quality is very close and the
impact of customer satisfaction that can be measured cafeteria service level by students' satisfaction. The
food quality has two factors includes external factors and internal factors. External factor is major
appearance, size or color, texture and flavor and internal factors will major focus to nutrition,
chemical and physical. That the factors are most important to influence consumer select the food and
evaluate food quality. The degree of satisfying university cafeteria depends mostly on the quality of meals,
diversity of food, food hygiene and environment [28]. Overall quality of the food, taste of food, freshness of
the food and eye appeal of the food are classified for food quality dimension [40].
References
Kasper, H., Helsdingen, P. van, & Gabbott, M. (2006). Services
marketing management (2nd ed.). Chichester, England: John
Wiley and sons ltd.

Jun, M., Yang, Z., & Kim, D. (2004). Customers' perceptions of

online retailing service quality and their satisfaction.
International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 21(8),
817-840.

Kyoon Yoo, D., & Ah Park, J. (2007). Perceived service quality:

Analyzing relationships among employees, customers, and
financial performance. International Journal of Quality & reliability
management, 24(9), 908-926.

Dehbidi, S. Y., Salimifard, K., & Abdollahzadeh, A. (2014).

Evaluating the effective components on dimensions of quality
in service organizations (A Fuzzy AHP Approach). Asian Journal
of Research in Marketing, 3(1), 169-182.

Elliott, K. M., & Shin, D. (2002). Student satisfaction: An

alternative approach to assessing this important concept. Journal
of Higher Education Policy and Management, 24(2), 197–209.

Jashireh, A., Slambolchi, A., & Mobarakabadi, H. (2016).

A literature review of service quality and customer satisfaction.
Advanced Social humanities and Mangement, 3(2), 1-12.

Mauri, A. G., & Minazzi, R. (2013). Web reviews influence on

expectations and purchasing intentions of hotel potential
customers. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 34, 99-
107.

Kursunluoglu, E. (2011). Customer Service Effects on Customer

Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty: A Field Research in
Shopping Centers in Izmir City Turkey. International Journal of
Business and Social Science, 2(17), 52-59.

Klassen, J. K., Trybus, E., & Kumar, A. (2005). Planning Food

Services for a Campus Setting. Hospitality Management, In
Press.