Influence of demographic variables on customers’ experiences in formal full-service restaurants in Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Sa？etak The purpose of this article was to determine the influence of demographic variables on customers’ experiences in formal full-service restaurants in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The questionnaires were distributed at selected formal full-service restaurants, and a total of 400 questionnaires were included in the statistical analysis. The data analysis consisted of the experiences of respondents with different demographic variables, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-tests. The results indicated that on a 5 point Likert scale, respondents’ mean experience scores varied between 3.84 and 4.53. Customers of different genders rated experiences of service significantly differently (p<0.05). Customers from different age groups rated their experiences of food and beverage, service and overall experiences significantly differently (p<0.05). Customers from different monthly income groups rated their experiences of food and beverage, service and overall experiences significantly different (p<0.05). Customers with different levels of education rated their experiences for food and beverage, service and overall experiences significantly different (p<0.05). Consequently, the experiences of customers for food and beverages and service were influenced by their gender, age, monthly income and level of education. Formal full-service restaurateurs should therefore focus on customers’ gender, age, monthly income and level of education in order to improve customer experiences and gain a competitive advantage over other restaurant categories