Figure 1: The Mess Menu for 8th Feb 14th Feb

DECISION PROBLEM
The mess management would like to know the reasons for the low rates of subscription,
especially repeat subscriptions and what should be done to improve the same.
RESEARCH PROBLEMS
1. To determine the major factors which determine student satisfaction at food outlets
2. To determine the expectation of the students with regard to the mess food and
service
3. To determine the perception of the students with regard to the mess food and
service
4. To determine the primary reasons because of which students choose not to
subscribe to the mess
5. To determine the steps that could be taken to increase registration and re-
registration at the mess.

RESEARCH MATRIX
Research Problem Information Needs Sources of Information
To determine the Importance of the following to Secondary Data
major factors which students: In-Depth Interviews
determine student Range and Quality of Food Questionnaire
satisfaction at food Pricing Focus Group
outlets Timings Discussions
Location
Provision of Value-Added
Services such as Room
Delivery
Feedback Systems
Other Factors, based on
Exploratory Research

Sensitivity of the students

To determine the Determination of the expectations of Questionnaire
expectation of the the students along the above (ServQual, or an
students with regard parameters vis--vis the mess adaptation thereof)
to the mess food and
service (Both mess subscribers and non-
mess subscribers will be considered
in the sampling process)
To determine the Determination of the expectations of Questionnaire
perception of the the students along the above (ServQual, or an
students with regard parameters vis--vis the mess adaptation thereof)
 to the mess food and (Mess Subscribers past/current
service will be considered in the sampling
process)
To determine the Number of people not subscribing to Questionnaire
primary reasons the mess due to factors related to: In-Depth Interviews
because of which Quality of food
students choose not Quality of service
to subscribe to the Convenience
mess Price
Value-Added Services
Feedback Systems
Infrastructure and Facilities
any other factors that emerge
during secondary data research

To determine the Gaps between expected level and Focus Group

steps that could be current level of food and service Discussions
taken to increase quality In-depth Interviews
registration and re- Questionnaire
registration at the
mess.

RESEARCH DESIGN
The research will consist of three phases:

EXPLORATORY RESEARCH: SECONDARY DATA

In the first phase we will conduct secondary data analysis to understand the various aspects
of customer satisfaction when it comes to food outlets. Further, we also wish to understand
the relative importance of these factors. Some of the factors that can be explored are the type,
range and quality of food provided, pricing, unbundling of meals, timings, location, provision
of value-added services and feedback systems.

Since no internal data is available pertaining to the mess, we will be focusing on literature
review from external sources. We will be looking into published reports regarding factors
determining customer satisfaction in commercial food outlets as well as student mess or
canteens. We will also review reports that recommend measures that can be used to increase
customer satisfaction in these outlets. We are relying on secondary data obtained from
general business sources such as guides, audits, research papers and statistical data.

This secondary data will help us to better understand the various factors that we may not
have considered and better formulate the research instruments for the subsequent steps. It
will also help us to interpret primary data more insightfully.

EXPLORATORY RESEARCH: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

The second phase will consist of qualitative research methods to gain insight into the minds
of the students and frame the research instruments used in the third phase. This phase can
also be used to confirm or discard any trends or insights that may come up during literature
review.

We will be conducting two methods of non-disguised or direct research.

Focus group interviews:

We will be conducting two focus group interviews of 6 members each. The first focus group
will be a representative sample from the population of mess subscribers. The objective will
be to understand their reasons for eating at the mess, their expectations and their
perceptions of food and service at the mess, and any recommendations they may have to
improve the mess. The FGD will also focus on evaluating their price sensitivity to the various
factors.

The second focus group will consist solely of non-subscribers and the aim will be to
understand the major reasons for non-subscription and what changes would incentivize the
non-subscribers to register at the mess. The FGD will also bring out the parameters that
influence their selection of a food outlet, and will determine their price sensitivity to the
same. A comparative study of the mess and other food outlets will also be borne out.

In-depth interviews
We will be conducting six in-depth interviews, three each of subscribers and non-subscribers
to the mess. The pattern and outline for the interviews will be drawn from literature review.
The interviews will be unstructured and will be geared towards the use of laddering to
extract as much insight as possible from the interviewee and compliment the insights
captured from the FGDs.

CONCLUSIVE RESEARCH: QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

During this phase, a sample of 50 to 60 students will be selected and a questionnaire will be
administered to address the research problems. This will be a representative sample
consisting of both subscribers and non-subscribers of the mess. The questionnaire will
primarily consist of structured questions and will be administered online. The aim will be to
gain maximum understanding of student behavior while ensuring that the respondents are
not confused or lose interest as this may lead to bias and error in the responses.

DATA ANALYSIS PLAN

To determine the sensitivity of customer satisfaction to the different factors such as price,
quality of food, range of food and quality of service, we will be using multivariate analysis
and finding the regression coefficients for each of these factors. Using this we can gauge how
improvements in these factors could influence customer behavior.

EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
We decided to proceed with secondary data (literature review) and qualitative research for
the purpose of (1) Gaining insight for developing an approach to the problem of increasing
mess subscriptions and (2) Developing testable hypothesis.

SECONDARY DATA (LITERATURE REVIEW)

Since no internal data was available, secondary data was reviewed. We used published
material such as journal articles and research papers. The objective was three-fold:

(1) To determine the factors that influence a students choice of food outlet on campus in
particular
(2) To determine an appropriate tool for measuring service quality
(3) To gain insights on ways to increase turnover at food outlets (and indirectly, increase
mess subscriptions)