Santa Fe Grill Survey data analysis

MEMORANDUM

TO:                  Dr. Tracy Meyer, Associate Professor

FROM:            Jacob Loftis, Student

DATE:             November 27, 2012

SUBJECT:      Santa Fe Grill survey data analysis

The marketing communications and intelligence class has recently collected data from customers of Santa Fe Grill. The purpose of this data collection was to better understand customer perceptions of the services provided within the restaurant. The survey data measured customer opinion on various aspects of Santa Fe Grill in order to gather an overall picture of what each customer thought about the restaurant. We hope the data collected and the analysis prepared will help to identify which areas of service Santa Fe Grill will need to improve upon in the future and which areas of service go beyond customers’ expectations.

SPSS Data Analysis

Each customer was asked to rate 10 different aspects of restaurant service on a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being very unsatisfied and 5 being very satisfied. For the analysis of the data gathered, an independent samples t-test was performed. This compared the mean of each service aspect to determine if it was significantly different from the corporate average of 4.6. Only two of the aspects measured were not significantly different from the corporate average. The average rating of how large the portion sizes at Santa Fe Grill are (M= 4.51, SD= 1.313) is not significantly less than the corporate average of 4.6 (t(399), p> .05). Also, the average rating on the properness of the food temperature (M= 4.57, SD= 1.104) is not significantly less than the corporate average of 4.6 (t(399)= -.544, p< .05).

The next three aspects had an average that was significantly above the corporate average, this is a sign of areas the restaurant is doing well in in regards to service towards customers. First, the average rating of how fresh the food was (M= 5.76, SD= 1.194) is significantly more than the corporate average of 4.6 (t(399)= 19.428, p< .05). Next, the average rating of how excellent the food taste (M=5.31, SD= 1.088) is significantly more than the corporate average of 4.6 (t(399)= 13.103, p< .05). Last, the average rating of how fast the service was (M= 5.34, SD= .809) is significantly more than the corporate average of 4.6 (t(399)= 18.172, p< .05). From these aspects, customers thought Santa Fe Grill delivered a very high quality product that was delivered quickly to them. However, these are the only aspects of service that were shown to have a significantly higher average rating that the corporate average.

The rest of the aspects measured had an average customer rating that was significantly less than the corporate average. The first aspect was the friendliness of employees and the average rating from customers at Santa Fe Grill (M= 4.27, SD=.908) is significantly less than the corporate average of 4.6 (t(399)= -7.270, p< .05).  The second aspect was on how fun of a place the restaurant was to dine at; the average rating (M=3.96, SD=.859) is significantly less than the corporate average of 4.6 (t(399)= -14.963, p< .05). Third, was a measure of how reasonable the prices at Santa Fe Grill are; the average rating (M= 4.34, SD= 1.228) is significantly less than the corporate average of 4.6 (t(399)= -4.234, p< .05). The forth measured how much customers viewed the restaurant interior as attractive; the average rating (M= 4.05, SD= .996) is significantly less than the corporate average of 4.6 (t(399)= -11.090, p< .05). Last, was a measure of how much customers viewed the employees as knowledgeable; the average rating (M= 4.74, SD= .952) is significantly less than the corporate average of 4.6 (t(399)= 2.889, p< .05).

The next part of the analysis tested to determine if there were any significant differences in terms of satisfaction, likelihood returning, or likelihood of recommending Santa Fe Grill based on the gender of the survey participant. The amount of satisfaction was significantly different for men (M=4.83, SD= .966) verses women (M= 4.38, SD= .874), t(398)= 4.789, p< .05. Based on the differences of the average rating between men and women, men were more likely to be more satisfied from dining with the restaurant than women. The likelihood of returning to Santa Fe Grill was significantly different for men (M= 4.58, SD= .902) verses women (M= 4.01, SD= 1.130), t(398)= 5.623, p<. 05. Based on the average ratings, men were more likely to return than women. Lastly, the likelihood of recommending Santa Fe Grill to others was significantly different for men (M= 3.77, SD= .845) verses women (M=3.01, SD= .862), t(398)= 8.837,p< .05. Based on the average rating of this aspect of the restaurant, men were more likely to recommend this dinning establishment to others.

                              

The last part of the analysis concentrated on the effectiveness of advertising campaign for Santa Fe Grill. A chi-square test was performed in order to determine if there was a relationship between the ability to recall Santa Fe Grill ads and the age group viewing the ad. By splitting the age groups into 1- 49 years old and 50 and over, age did seem to make a significant difference on the ability to recall an ad, x² (1, N = 400) = 14.783, p = .000. Based on the chart from the Chi-squared analysis, the age group 1-49 was more likely to recall the ad for the restaurant than survey participants that were 50 and older.

Ad recall differences between age groups 1-49 and 50 and over
			X31 -- AgeLH		Total
			1-49	50 and over
X26 -- Ad Recall	Do Not Recall Ads	Count	168	93	261
		Expected Count	184.7	76.3	261.0
	Recall Ads	Count	115	24	139
		Expected Count	98.3	40.7	139.0
Total		Count	283	117	400
		Expected Count	283.0	117.0	400.0

The purpose of the service aspects measured was to gather customer’s opinion on their overall experience while dinning in Santa Fe Grill. When the survey data is compared to the corporate average, the restaurant delivers a product that was highly rated on average in terms of quality. Customer’s opinion on employees in the restaurant had mixed results. While the speed of their service was highly rated, their friendliness and knowledge had a low rating compared to the corporate average. Survey participants had a low average rating in regards to whether or not the products and services of Santa Fe Grill had a fair price. The reasonability of the prices had a low average rating compared to the corporate average. The next part of our analysis showed that there was a significant difference in term of restaurant satisfaction, likelihood of returning, and likelihood of recommending in relation to gender. Men were more likely to have higher satisfaction and more likely to return and recommend Santa Fe Grill to others. There are a number of possibilities as to why this is the case, one could be the menu items being geared toward men. A further analysis of the restaurant would be needed to determine the cause of this result. The last part of the survey analyzed the relationship between the ability to recall restaurant ads and the age group viewing the ad. Participants 49 years and younger were more likely to recall the ad than participants 50 and older. This result should be taken into consideration when deciding what target market to pinpoint the ad campaign towards. From the analysis discussion above, there are some aspects of the restaurant that could use improvement, and others that the dinning establishment is doing very well in. We hope this survey analysis has produced significant results that will impact future business decisions for Santa Fe Grill.