The Impact of Food Rumors handling procedures on restaurants’ image and customers’ purchasing decision: A research in Fayoum

Abstract

The solutions and procedures used by the local restaurant managers in dealing with food rumors have a great impact on the mental image of the restaurant and customers purchasing decision. Various studies have shown that the strategies used by local restaurant managers to handle the crisis of food rumors, which lead to restore customer confidence and improve the mental image of the restauranta. The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of food rumors handling procedures on restaurants’ image and customers’ purchasing decision of local restaurant. To achieve the objectives of the research 400 questionnaires were distributed on restaurant customers. The response rate was 80%. The findings show that there is a significant impact of the solutions and procedures used by local restaurants to handle food rumors on the mental image and there is a significant impact of the solutions and procedures used by local restaurants to handle food rumors on the customer purchasing decision. The study recommended restaurant managers should do more work on differentiating their image, specifically through symbols and branding and restaurants should consistently provide quality products and services, such as serving food in promised time, serving ordered food accurately, and staff should be knowledgeable about menus, convenient operating hours, and ensure appearance.