Service Quality Delivery and Consumer’s Choice of Fast Foods Outlets in Calabar, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined service quality delivery and consumers’ choice of fast foods outlets in Calabar, Nigeria. It was conducted to highlight how service quality dimensions influenced consumer’s choice of fast foods outlets in Calabar, Nigeria. The study specifically examined the effect of service tangibility, service responsiveness, service assurance and service empathy on consumer’s choice of fast foods outlets in Calabar. Survey research design was adopted. Primary data was collected from sampled consumers of De Choice Fast Foods and Crunchies in Calabar using structured questionnaire. Simple regression in the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was adopted to analyse the data collected. Consequently, it was found that service tangibility, service reliability, service responsiveness, service assurance and service empathy had significant effects on consumer’s choice of fast foods in Calabar. Based on this finding, it was concluded that service quality dimensions had a significant effect on customers’ choice of fast foods in Calabar. Thus, it was recommended amongst others that, f ast food outlets in Calabar should be more responsive to consumers’ service requirements by rapidly eliciting and resolving consumers’ enquiries and complaints; to encourage consumer’s choice, fast foods outlets in Calabar should consistently deliver fast, strong, and reliable service; to achieve sustained customer loyalty, fast food outlets should ensure their personnel treat consumers with politeness and consideration at every point of service encounter; more so, every brand should constantly seek ways to offer freshness in order to remain relevant in the market place ( Word count: 241).