TITLE:
Assessing the Impact of Sanitation on Customer Retention: A Survey of Restaurants in the Tamale Metropolis
AUTHORS:
Salam Abubakari, Karim Ankrah Mohammed, Ibrahim Nshinmi Iddrisu
KEYWORDS:
Hospitality, Cleanliness, Perception, Sanitation, Retention, Customer Satisfaction and Employee
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.6 No.12,
December
27,
2019
ABSTRACT: In the hospitality industry customer perception and satisfaction are largely hooked upon quality of service in the quest to retaining customers in the restaurants. This study is aimed at examining the impact of sanitation on customer retention in restaurants in the Tamale Metropolis. Some of the key elements that were used to examine the study were customer perception and satisfaction on sanitation variables such as dining area cleanliness, employee hygiene, outside environment cleanliness and food contact surface cleanliness. Participants in this study included customers in the restaurants. The convenient sampling and lottery sampling methods were employed for this study. The total number of restaurants was 30 while 543 customers were selected in the restaurants. Customer perception of sanitation variables had significant effect on their return intention. Customers were also highly satisfied with the sanitation level in restaurants and that influenced their retention. It is however imperative for all food service managers to uphold the issues of sanitation seriously in order to ensure customer retention.