Students’ Satisfaction with University Lunch Quality: Case Fox Mamselli Restaurant at KAMK

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to measure the students’ satisfaction with university lunch service, at the same time, to identify the international perspectives and suggest new strategies for the upcoming renovation. The research was conducted for the sake of both students and university’s restaurant itself, specifically, not only help them have a higher quality university lunch but also provide Fox Mamselli restaurant with the students’ expectations and develop ideas for a new canteen in the future.

Different concepts of customer satisfaction, customer expectation and measurements are discussed in the theoretical part. This section explains the customer perceptions as well as the correlation between customer satisfaction and six-core determinants based on the conceptual model of (Wilson, et al., 2012). The researcher applied the SERVQUAL model in evaluating service quality and its linkage with the satisfaction level. Essentially, the information of university lunch served by the institutions of higher education in Finland is introduced, followed by multi-cultural views of Finnish cuisine and Finnish school meal obtained in initial studies.

The author utilized two research methods, i.e. qualitative and quantitative methods to solve the research problems. An online survey was conducted with 117 participants, including both Finnish and foreign students at KAMK. A semi-structured interview with a representative of Fox Mamselli was then implemented via email to conclude in renovation strategies, which solve the remaining issues and expectations raised in the survey results.

The study outcome illustrates that lunch price and service quality were both hit the highest satisfaction level. The school meal offered by Fox brings a positive image of Finnish cuisine to international customers as well. Nevertheless, menu selection and food quality should be prioritized to improve in the next renovation. Kajaani Mamselli has proposed applicable solutions for the lunch variety and international development such as organizing theme weeks and tasting afternoons. The canteen premise will be upgraded with expanded spaces and other amenities. Extra services added to the Fox lunch are taken into consideration with appropriate price adjustment.