Authors:
Rutika Mahadik – 021331025357
Supriya Harugeri- 021331025466
Rutuja Pardikar- 021331025668
Introduction:
Canteen service quality is an important aspect of student life in educational institutions. A college canteen provides food and refreshments to students during academic hours and serves as a common space for interaction and relaxation. Factors such as food quality, hygiene, pricing, staff behavior, and waiting time significantly influence students’ satisfaction. Poor canteen services may lead to dissatisfaction, health issues, and reduced usage of facilities. Therefore, understanding students’ perceptions of canteen service quality is essential to identify problem areas and suggest improvements for better service delivery.
Objective:
To understand the level of satisfaction of students regarding canteen service quality.
Literature Review:
Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) introduced the SERVQUAL model, which highlights reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles as key dimensions of service quality. Previous studies indicate that food quality and hygiene are the most critical factors influencing customer satisfaction in institutional canteens. Research also shows that reasonable pricing and polite staff behavior significantly improve students’ perception of service quality. Poor hygiene and long waiting hours are commonly reported issues that negatively affect satisfaction levels. Overall, existing literature emphasizes that continuous monitoring of service quality is necessary to meet customer expectations and improve food service operations.
Kaur and Singh (2019) examined service quality in college canteens and found that food quality, cleanliness, and affordability are the most important factors affecting student satisfaction. The study highlights that hygienic food preparation, and a clean dining environment increase students’ trust in canteen services. It was also observed that polite staff behavior and timely service improve the overall dining experience. The researchers concluded that continuous monitoring and regular feedback from students are necessary to maintain and improve canteen service quality in educational institutions.
Data Collection:
To understand the underlying phenomenon of students understanding level of canteen service quality, the following questions were framed using a Likert scale:
- I receive good quality food from the canteen.
- I experience hygienic conditions in the canteen.
- I receive prompt service at the canteen.
- I consider the canteen prices reasonable.
- I remain satisfied with overall canteen service quality.
A Google Form was formed with the above questions on a 5-point scale, and responses were coded as 5 – Strongly Agree, 4 – Agree, 3 – Neutral, 2 – Disagree, and 1 – Strongly Disagree.
The data was downloaded as an Excel sheet, and for every question mean, standard deviation, standard error, and t-stat were calculated.
Data Analysis:
|
|
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
Q5 |
|
Mean |
3.25 |
3.24 |
3.22 |
3.49 |
3.33 |
|
SD |
1.11 |
1.11 |
1.07 |
0.92 |
1.06 |
|
SE |
0.11 |
0.11 |
0.11 |
0.09 |
0.11 |
|
T-Stat |
2.25 |
2.16 |
2.06 |
5.35 |
3.1 |
|
Result |
Agree |
Agree |
Agree |
Agree |
Agree |
Conclusion:
- Students agree that they receive good quality food from the canteen (2.25).
- Students experience hygienic conditions in the canteen (2.16).
- Students feel that the canteen provides prompt service (2.06).
- Students strongly agree that the canteen prices are reasonable (5.35).
- Students remain satisfied with the overall canteen service quality (3.10).
Overall, the study indicates that students have a positive perception of canteen service quality. However, continuous improvement in food quality, hygiene, and service efficiency can further enhance student satisfaction.
References:
Kaur, P., & Singh, R. (2019). Service quality and student satisfaction in college canteens. International Journal of Hospitality and Food Service Management.
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), 12–40.