1. 
 Who We Are
 Services
 Prices
 Writing Samples
 Writing Tips
 Contact Us
Home Dissertation Writing Samples Customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger
King, UK.
Customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King, UK.
Abstract
Table of Contents [hide]
 1 Abstract
 2 Chapter 1: Introduction and Background
o 2.1 Background of the study
o 2.2 Organizational background
o 2.3 Research aim and objectives
o 2.4 Research questions

2. o 2.5 Overall limitations of the study
o 2.6 Brief outline of the study
 3 Chapter 2: Review of Literature
o 3.1 Introduction
o 3.2 Key elemts from review of literature
o 3.3 Theoretical framework of research
o 3.4 Conclusion
 4 Chapter 3: Research methodology
o 4.1 Introduction
o 4.2 Research philosophy
o 4.3 Research approach
o 4.4 Data collection methods

3. o 4.5 Sampling strategy and sample size
o 4.6 Data analysis tools and techniques
o 4.7 Data presentation techniques
o 4.8 Validity, reliability and generalization
o 4.9 Consideration of ethical issues
o 4.10 Conclusion
 5 Chapter 4: Data Presentation
o 5.1 Introduction
o 5.2 Presentation of interview data
o 5.3 Presentation of survey data
o 5.4 Conclusion
 6 Chapter 5: Discussion on research findings

4. o 6.1 Introduction
o 6.2 Primary research findings
o 6.3 Secondary research findings
o 6.4 Conclusion
 7 Chapter 6: Conclusions & Recommendations
o 7.1 Introduction
o 7.2 Conclusions on research findings
o 7.3 Recommendations
o 7.4 Self-reflection on research project
o 7.5 Future research and opportunities
o 7.6 Overall research limitations
o 7.7 Conclusion

5. Customer satisfaction is one the most common and important aspects in any organization,
particularly in fast-food industry. Due to market competition and availability of businesses,
an organization needs to focus on the degree to which a customer is satisfied with its products
and/or services of the organization. This research project is based on the comparative study
on customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King, UK. Both the case studied
organizations are leading fast-food businesses in the UK and other international countries.
From several sources of information depicts that both business has been providing quality
products and services to satisfy their customers. So, it can be noted that the selection of the
case studied organizations are most relevant and appropriate to explore and analyse customer
satisfaction in fast-food industry.
Based on the review of literature, the researcher would like to opine that customer
satisfaction is an important factor in fast-food industry and there are several common things

6. including quality of products, price of products, service quality, settings of the restaurant,
promotion, brand name etc. have significant influence to satisfy customers. The review of
literature also shows that there are some common models, such as SERVQUAL Model,
Expectancy-disconfirmation Model, etc. can be used to measure degree to which a customer
is satisfied or dissatisfied with products and/or services of an organization, like McDonald’s
and Burger King.
The primary research findings shows that majority of the customers are satisfied and highly
satisfied with overall customer service at McDonald’s and Burger King. However, some the
customers have mentioned that they are not satisfied with price of products at McDonald’s
and Burger King. At the end, the researcher would like to opine that both McDonald’s and
Burger King have been developing and implementing policies and practices to satisfy their

7. customers and however, both business have to focus on the current market trends in fast-food
as well as demands and expectations of the customers to increase customer satisfaction.
Chapter 1: Introduction and Background
Background of the study
Fast-food business is one the most common business mostly in developed countries that
depicts a process of delivering foods more quickly than other any other restaurant
system and it takes less time to prepare the foods as well as ready for eating and/or
delivering to the customers (Khan, 2012). Khan (2012) has mentioned that customers are the
most important part of any business and they are the people who have significant influence
and impact on the business, including fast-food business. Customer satisfaction is the
personal feelings about foods and services in the fast-food business that has been considering
as one the most important aspects within the business.

8. Customer satisfaction is one of the most common and important aspect in recent globalized
and competitive businessenvironment throughout the international markets. Customer
satisfaction is a behavioural approach of the customers that can be defined as the level of
satisfaction by the customers after buying and/or consuming a particular product/service from
a business. The level of customer satisfaction has been playing significant roles to develop
organizational policies and objectives as well as business strategies to increase customer
satisfaction through providing quality products and/or services to the customer. For example,
Hill et al. (2007) have mentioned that customer satisfaction is regarding one of the most
important aspects within a business to focus profits of the business through customer
satisfaction, employee satisfaction by virtue of customer satisfaction, returns to shareholder
by customer satisfaction, impacts of customer satisfaction on macro-environment and so on.

9. In today’s ever-increasing globalization of services and brands, service-oriented businesses,
such as fast-food industry need to attend to the satisfaction of their customers (Gilbert et al.,
2004). Customer satisfaction with limited-service restaurants reached a score of 80, a new
peak. Just 2 years ago, the index score stood at 75. Papa John’s performed best in the
category, with a score of 83, up 5% from 79 last year. Little Caesar and Subway followed
with a score of 82, tied with the aggregate of all other limited-service restaurants, at 82. Pizza
Hut saw a 3.7% decline to 79, while Starbucks also fell, by 5%, to a score of 76 (Marketing
Charts Staff, 2012).
Customer satisfaction is becoming key issue and concern for a business, particularly for fast
food business. Customer satisfaction has been considered as one of the most important index
for the measuring of organizational performance of a business. For example, Michman and

10. Mazze (1998) have mentioned that customer satisfaction is considering as vital issue for a
business, like fast food business because product quality and diversification of business is
essential to influence customers’ buying patterns and thus to satisfy them. As an example,
they have mentioned that McDonald’s has distinguished itself with superior customer service
and product consistency while offering low prices and high value to customers. On the other
hand, Burger King has not developed a clear strategy, like McDonald’s; however, Burger
King appears to have followed a strategy of being second best, as a close market follower of
McDonald’s (Michman and Mazze, 1998). So, it can be said that both companies have been
focusing on customer services with quality products in relation to increase customer
satisfaction.
Khan (2012) has noted that the success and failure of fast food industry depends on several
key aspects, price of the products, quality of products, services to the customers, promotions,

11. customer expectations, brand, physical distribution and location of the store, and taste of the
product and other related things. This research project is based on the comparative analysis of
customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King, leading fast-food chains in the UK as
well as in the international markets. McDonald’s is one of the world’s leading and largest
fast-food businesses throughout the international markets. Burger King is another world’s
leading fast-food business throughout the international markets. Thus, the researcher would
like to say that customer satisfaction is becoming an important issue and concern for an
organization, particularly for fast-food businesses, such as McDonald’s and Burger King. So,
the comparative study of customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King in the UK
can be considered as time worthy and most effective research project.
The researcher is self-motivated to carry out such type of research project. The selection of
research topic is based on the importance of academic, organizational and personal point of

12. views. Customer satisfaction within fast food industry is becoming key issue for the success
of the business through creating brand loyalty and customer loyalty. The researcher will
explore and analyse existing theories and practices on customer satisfaction through review
of literatures and primary research findings.
So, the comparative study of customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King has
academic importance. The researcher will develop valid recommendations to the
case studied organization in accordance with identified issues and concerns from review of
literatures and primary research. So, this research project has significance from
organizational perspective. The research project is designated in such a way that will improve
knowledge and understanding of the business management through analysing customer
satisfaction. So, this research project has importance from personal view.
Organizational background

13. The researcher has selected two major leading fast-food businesses, such as McDonald’s and
Burger King in the UK. McDonald’s is the world’s most famous fast-food restaurant and
Burger King is one of the main competitors of McDonald’s. The researcher would like to
discuss and explain organizational background, i.e. organizational information of
McDonald’s and Burger King as follows-
McDonald’s: McDonald’s is a famous fast food restaurant known in 119 nations around the
world because of products and services. The most recognizable brand is the Golden Arches
closely followed by the clown character called Ronald McDonald. The company is well
known throughout the world because of its products, such as hamburgers and strong branding
(Hassan, 2010). The entry of Ray Kroc was one of the historical events for McDonald’s
success because of his significant changes and development within the business. For

14. example, Ray Kroc had brought the business outside of California and Arizona and more than
100 restaurants were in operation by 1959 (Hassan, 2010).
McDonald’s is the world’s leading fast food business. Innovation and environmentally
sustainability approach of the business is one of the prime aspects at McDonald’s in relation
to provide foods and services to the customers throughout the world, including in the UK
(Love, 2008). McDonald’s is the world’s largest and biggest fast food chain. McDonald’s
was opened by two brothers named Richard and Maurice McDonald in 1937 in California,
some scholars have mentioned that McDonald’s first opened in 1940 in California (Gaspar,
2005). And so it was, on 12 December, 1948, that the new revamped McDonald’s Restaurant
opened, and Richard McDonald cooked the first McDonald’s hamburger (Gaspar, 2005).
Since then the company has been providing fast food items in United States (U.S.) and other
international markets.

15. The values of McDonald’s reflect the approach and practices of customer satisfaction. For
example, McDonald’s is committed to doing the right thing from the beginning of the
business. The company has been developing and implementing several policies, programs
and practices in place that allow the business to use its size and scope to help make a
difference because McDonald’s believes what’s good for the business, is good for all of us
(McDonald’s, 2012). The author has revealed information from McDonald’s (2012) that
shows that customers are the first in the business of McDonald’s. The information also shows
that McDonald’s has been adopting most effective and appropriate strategies to offer high-
quality products, quicker services in a clean and friendly environment as well as commitment
towards the value for money for the customers.
Mckinney (2012) has noted that according to American Consumer Satisfaction Index,
McDonald’s has the worst level of customer satisfaction and also noted that all McDonald’s

16. customers are not agreed with the business vision, i.e. I’m lovin it’ of McDonald’s. Mckinney
(2012) has mentioned that it is worth noting that the company has made significant
improvements since 2004. On the other hand, McDonald’s issued a statement in response:
“At McDonald’s, customer satisfaction has, and continues to be, a top priority. We take all
customer feedback seriously. Through restaurant evaluations and customer and employee
feedback, we are continually evaluating our performance. Our internal and third-party
research shows that we continue to make progress in satisfying our customers (McDonald’s,
2012). The company has been carrying out customer satisfaction survey for the purpose of
hearing from customer because customer satisfaction is important to the business. The
company has been carrying out customer satisfaction survey and the feedback of the
customer shared directly with all restaurants to help to make next purchase an excellence
experience (McDonald’s, 2012).

17. Thus, based on the customer satisfaction approach and practice at McDonald’s, it is clear that
McDonald’s is one of the most relevant organizations to carry out customer satisfaction in
fast food business.
Burger King: Burger King is second leading fast food business in the world. Burger King is
depending on repeat purchases from satisfied customers. The company has been focusing on
high-quality food, good value and dependable service (Pride and Ferrell, 2012). They have
mentioned that the company has been providing different services with quality foods to
increase number of customers through satisfying their needs and demands in accordance with
current trends and demand within the fast-food industry.
According to the Associates Press (2012), Burger King was opened in 1954 in Miami by
David Edgerton. Three months later, Jim McLamore matches Edgerton’s capital and the co-

18. founders form a corporation called Burger King of Miami Inc. In 2002, Burger King goes
publicly. In 2010, Burger King is taken by private business, known as 3G Capital and the
new owners begin yearlong processes to revive the business through new menu items and
remodelled stores. From the beginning the business is trying to provide quality products and
excellent services to the customers for the purpose of creating brand loyalty among other
competitors in fast food industry (The Associates Press, 2012).
Burger King, the second largest fast food chain is launching a nationwide customer
experience programme called Guest Track in the UK (United Kingdom), in partnership with
customer insight agency SMG. Burger King says that in an increasingly challenging market,
the customer experience is a vital driver for retaining existing customers and attracting new
customers. The company is committed to pass information within entire system of the

19. business in real time and particularly for the company’s operational activities in relation to
food quality, cleanliness and speed of service (Sales Promotion Publishing Ltd, 2012). Thus,
the approach of customer experience programme at Burger King can be considered as
appropriate initiatives to increase customer satisfaction within Burger King.
The researcher has revealed information from Burger King Empire (2012) that shows the
mission statement of Burger King that reflects commitment to customers. The business
mission and vision reflects the commitment towards the customers. For example, Burger
King has been providing first priority on the quality foods at simpler and quicker ways to its
customers. The second priority of the business is cleaner environment in compare to other
competitors in the fast-food industry. Finally, the business is committed to create better
organizational culture that will help to create more customers through word-of-mouth

20. marketing approach. So, the issue of customer satisfaction is prime concern of the mission
statement of Burger King.
According to American Consumer Satisfaction Index (2012), Burger King has improved its
level of customer satisfaction compare to last year and compare to other bigger competitors,
like McDonald’s. The key success factor at Burger King that mainly concern with the
customer satisfaction is the commitment towards improved services to its customers. The
company has been conducting different customer satisfaction program and based on the
feedback and suggestions, the business has been developing and implementing different
strategies to increase customer satisfaction through reducing number of customers’
complaints (Kelso, 2012).

21. According to a recent report from the National Customer Satisfaction Index, Burger King has
shown the most improvement in customer satisfaction among guests in the United Kingdom
market. Even though McDonald’s scores also improved during the measured period, Burger
King’s jump surpassed the Golden Arches for the first time (Kelso, 2012). In accordance with
the discussion and explanation of the overall business activities of both McDonald’s and
Burger King, it is clear that both businesses are committed to provide quality products and
excellence services to their customers. Thus, the researcher would like to opine that the
comparative study of customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King is most time
effective and appropriate research project in respect to organizational point of views.
Research aim and objectives

22. The primary research aim is to analyse customer satisfaction at fast food industry through
comparative study of McDonald’s and Burger King. The objectives of this research project as
follows-
 To explore and analyse existing theories and practices on customer satisfaction within
fast food industry, case of McDonald’s and Burger King through review of literatures;
 To identify and evaluate key factors influencing customer satisfaction at McDonald’s
and Burger King through primary and secondary research findings;
 To collect primary and secondary data and information in relation to current approaches
and practices on customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King;
 To represent data and information in such a way that will reflect overall description and
explanation on customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King; and

23.  To develop valid conclusions and recommendations in accordance with key themes
obtained from the primary and secondary data and information both in terms of
academic and organizational perspective.
Research questions
The primary research question is what are the common factors that affect customer
satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King? The other research questions include-
 What are the current business practices to satisfy customers at McDonald’s and Burger
King?
 How the case studied organizations, such as McDonald’s and Burger King have been
satisfying their customers?
 What are the common features within case studied organizations, such as McDonald’s
and Burger King leading customer satisfaction?

24.  What are the levels of customer satisfaction towards McDonald’s and Burger King,
UK? and
 What are the future plans and policies to improve current customer satisfaction at
McDonald’s and Burger King?
Overall limitations of the study
There were limitations involved in this research project-
1. Shortage of time and financial resources were the most common limitations. Due to
limited time to there was limited review of literature. And this research project was
based on self-financed, so due to lack money the researcher has conducted limited
interviews and surveys to collect primary data from the case studied organizations, such
as McDonald’s and Burger King. So, the limited time and lack of available financial
resources was one the most vital limitations for this research project.

25. 2. The concern for ethical issues and access to the case studied organizations, such as
McDonald’s and Burger King were another limitation of this research project. The
researcher has limited access to the data and information on current practices and
policies of customer services and approach of customer satisfaction because of
confidentiality of the case studied organizations.
3. The limited number of samples during the interview and survey may have negative
impact on the primary research findings and thus the preparation of final research
report. There was limited number of interviews and surveys because of shortage of time
and money of the researcher. There were few samples both in interview and survey to
collect primary data from the case studied organizations, such as McDonald’s and
Burger King.

26. 4. The lack of interview and survey skills of the researcher may affect the collection of
primary data from the case studied organizations, such as McDonald’s and Burger
King.
Brief outline of the study
In this research project, there are six chapters. All of those chapters can be briefly discuss as
follows-
Chapter 1- Introduction and Background: Under this chapter, the researcher has to discuss
and explain some of the most common and major issues of a research project. In this chapter,
several issues and concerns, such as background of the study, background of the case studied
organizations, research aim and objectives, research questions and overall limitations of the
research study etc. have discussed and explained by the researcher.

27. Chapter 2- Review of Literature: In this chapter, the researcher has discussed and
explained existing theories and practices of customer satisfaction, factors influencing
customer satisfaction, aspects of customer satisfaction at McDonald’s, aspects of customer
satisfaction at Burger King and theoretical background of the research project.
Chapter 3- Research Methodology: This chapter has been designated to cover all relevant
concepts of research methodology. Some of the most common aspects of this chapter include-
research philosophies, research approaches, research methods, advantages and disadvantages
of used research methods, data collection methods and techniques, sampling strategy and
sample size, data analysis tools and techniques, data presentation techniques, consideration of
ethical issues and overall limitations of the research methodology etc.
Chapter 4- Research Findings and Analysis: In this chapter, the researcher has presented
both primary and secondary research findings with their analysis. The researcher has

28. presented research findings through findings from review of literature and their analysis and
findings from primary data and their analysis.
Chapter 5- Discussions: In this chapter, the researcher has provided critical discussion of the
research findings, both of primary and secondary. Based on the critical discussions of the
research findings, the researcher has draw conclusions and recommendations in accordance
with research aims and objectives.
Chapter 6- Conclusions and recommendations: This is the final chapter of this research
project. Under this chapter, the researcher has provided conclusive remarks and cost-effective
and constructive recommendations both to academic and organizational point of views.
Chapter 2: Review of Literature
Introduction
Review of literature is one the most common and important chapter in any research. This
chapter has crucial influence on the overall research activities and thus to develop standard

29. research report with identifying and analysing key issues, concerns, theories and practices
etc. in accordance with research topic. In this chapter, the researcher has to discuss and
explain all relevant previous research works, including all related concepts, arguments, key
debates and criticism on the research areas. So, this chapter has been playing significant roles
to build framework and background of the research project. For example, according to
Saunders et al. (2009), there are following key benefits of review of literature in any research
project-
 It builds the framework and provide background to complete a research project with
identifying key issues and concerns as well as criticism relating to research topic;
 It helps the researcher to synthesize and evaluate research topic through identifying
gaps in the previous research works;

30.  It helps the researcher to develop research questions, hypothesis or propositions in
relation to collect primary data;
 It helps the research to develop valid conclusions and recommendations within final
research report.
Thus, from the above discussion, it can be noted that the critical literature review has been
playing significant roles to explore and analyse key issues and concerns of the proposed
research subject. Based on the discussion and explanation of those issues and concerns, the
researcher may develop conclusions and recommendations through evaluating existing issues
and concerns relating to the research topic. Under this chapter, the author has presented all of
the relevant previous research works for the purpose of comparative study of customer
satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King, leading fast chains in the world, including in the
UK.

31. Key elemts from review of literature
This research project is based on the comparative study of customer satisfaction at
McDonald’s and Burger King, world’s leading fast-food chain.
Burger King was founded in 1954 by its propellers McLamore and Edgerton. In the present
situation, the business is operating 7,800 restaurants and contributed 21.9% of fast-food
market share (Burger King, 2012). Meanwhile, McDonalds’ was introduced a year after,
1955. Founded by Ray Kroc and presently operating in 13,000 restaurants while contributing
a 44% of market share in fast food industry (McDonald’s, 2012).
The researcher has discussed and explained all of the relevant issues and concerns of
customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King under following three sub-heading-
1. Definition and explanation of customer satisfaction;

32. 2. Customer satisfaction at McDonald’s;
3. Customer satisfaction at Burger King; and
4. Tools and techniques to measure customer satisfaction.
A. Definition and explanation of customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction, a business term is defined as a measure of how products and services
supplied by a business meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key performance
indicator within a business (Khare, 2012). He has also described that in a competitive
marketplace where businesses compete for customers; customer satisfaction is seen as a key
differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy.
Over the past few decades, the concept of customer satisfaction has attracted the attention of
practitioners and academic researchers. Although widely used as a business performance

33. indicator (Luo and Homburg, 2007) and consumer choice assessor, there is still lack of
consensus as to what this multidimensional concept mean. Some researchers have
conceptualize this concept as an emotional response to an evaluative process (Oliver,
1997).Others like (Woodruff, et al., 1987; Halstead, et al., 1994; Westbrook and Reilly, 1983)
also share a different view by claiming this concept to be an effective response process which
in itself is cognitive in scope (Bolton and Drew, 1991; Howard and Sheth, 1969; Tse and
Wilton, 1988).
The success of a business depends on the level of satisfaction by its customers. The level of
customer satisfaction reflects the positive attitude and feelings towards the business. The
research shows that most of the satisfied customers recommend to others about the products
and services of that business and thus the business may gain more competitive edge in the

34. market through increasing customers’ satisfaction. For the purpose of gaining and/or
achieving business success, there should more focus on the needs and demands as well as
expectations of the customers and thus need to develop policy to provide right products
and/or services to meet those needs, demands and expectations of the customers.
Customer satisfaction is becoming one the key issue in recent competitive business
environment because of much awareness and consciousness of customers throughout the
local and international business markets. A business has to perform several activities to
satisfy its customers through providing quality products as well as quality services along with
other commitment towards customers and the community in which it has been operating and
managing its business. For example, Xue et al. (2008) have mentioned that customer
satisfaction (CS) has becomes one of the cores of modern service competition. They have

35. also mentioned that there are some major aspects, such as infrastructure and the appearance
of physical facilities; dependability and accuracy; betimes character of service; the reliability
of the trusted staffs; customer care; price diversity; and food quality etc. are have significant
influence on customer satisfaction in fast food industry.
The definition and explanation of customer satisfaction may vary depending on the type of
business and the demo-, socio-, and economic characteristics of the customers and the
markets of the business. For example, Oliver (1997) has defined customer satisfaction as
satisfaction is the consumer’s fulfilment response. It is a judgement that a product or service
feature, or the product or service itself, provided (or providing) pleasurable level of
consumption-related fulfilment, including under- or over- fulfilment. Khan (2012) has
mentioned that customers are the vital part of any business, including fast food industry, such
as McDonald’s and Burger King and satisfaction is the individual feeling of pleasure or

36. disappointment after purchasing a product/service from a business. So, customer satisfaction
is the level of pleasure or disappointment of an individual while purchasing or consuming a
particular product and/or service from a business.
Khan (2012) has concluded that customer satisfaction is very important for a business;
however, a business can not satisfy all of its customers because of multiple customers and
different choices and views of them. According to Riel (2005), customer satisfaction is
considered as key driver for the success of an organization, like fast food industry. He has
mentioned that the success of the business depends on the approach of customer satisfaction.
Customer satisfaction is defined as the expressions or approach of satisfaction on products
and services perceived from a business. Due to ever-increasing of globalization of services
and brands, customer satisfaction is becoming vital concern for fast food business (Gilbert et

37. al., 2004). The approach of satisfying customers through quality products and services is
playing crucial roles on the success and prospers of fast food businesses, like McDonald’s
and Burger King (Gilbert et al., 2004).
The feeling of pleasure and expectation fulfilment of a customer by a business is known
customer satisfaction (Zairi, 2000). He has also mentioned that if the products/services satisfy
the customers, they will become loyal to the products/services and towards the brand and on
the other hand, if the customers become dissatisfied with the products/services, the customer
may switch to other business or may not purchase again from that business. So, customer
satisfaction is important part for a business for the purpose of competing in the markets and
thus achieves organizational goals and objectives.

38. In their study of customer satisfaction, Veloutsou et al. (2005) have mentioned that customer
satisfaction is the perceived values and level of satisfaction between tangible and intangible
products and services provided by a business. He has noted the difference between physical
and non-physical products and services that are considered as the most vital factor in
satisfying customers by the business. In similar views, Churcill and Surprenant (1982) have
stated that the overall feelings and emotional feedback towards particular products and/or
services of a business by a customer after being using of that products and/or services in
terms of expectation, ability to meet demands and needs as well as some sorts of
physiological expressions about the products and/or services. Kurniawan (2010) has
described that customer satisfaction is a dynamic process that can change over period of time.
The reasons include- the changes in consumer behaviour, the changes in price of similar or

39. same products and services in other business, and the concern of quality of products and
services and so on. So, customer satisfaction is diverse and complex issue within a business.
Based on the review of previous research works, the researcher has found that several authors
and scholars have identified some determinants in relation to describe and explain customer
satisfaction. The researcher would like to mention following major examples of the
determinants of customer satisfaction-
 Promotion: According to Huang (2011) promotion is a form of marketing activities of
a business that set out in relation to create more customers through catching their
attention in different ways. All of these activities have vital roles to increase customer
satisfaction. For example, Kurniawan (2010) has noted that promotion of a product

40. and/or service helps a business to build strong relationships with customers and thus
help to increase customer satisfaction.
 Quality: Quality is one of the most common factors in customer satisfaction that can be
measure through categorizing or providing some sorts of standardization to the products
and/or services of a business (Takeuchi, 1983). For example, service quality is most
effective determinant in customer satisfaction that is evaluated when a customer
compare his or her perception and expectation of service delivery (Gronroos, 1984).
Zeithaml (1985) has noted that many researchers often use service quality to determine
and measure customer satisfaction. Zeithaml (1985) have developed a model known as
SERVQUAL model that is designated to measure service quality of a business and it is
a scale with multiple items that can be used to understand and find out the service
expectation and customer’s perception. Based on the results derived from SERVQUAL

41. model, it is can be said that the more customer expectation the more customer
satisfaction and vice versa. However, there is criticism of SERVQUAL model to
measure customer satisfaction in fast food industry. A number of researchers have
criticized the SERVQUAL approach. Two criticisms are notable. One, charged by Peter
et al. (1993) and Brown et al. (1993), relates to the indirect difference score approach.
Brown et al. (1993) observed that difference scores produced theoretically poorer
reliabilities than their component scores.
 Branding: Kurniawan (2010) has identified that branding is one of the most vital
factors which have been identified repeatedly customer choice in the selected
product/service from a particular business. Branding has been playing crucial roles
within customers’ purchase decisions and the more brand is succeeded the more value
for its brand can be generated and thus to increase customer satisfaction (Khan, 2011).

42. For instance, Boukili (2008) has noted that the process by which a business can build
positive image about products and/or services through adding some unique features
with those products and/or services and completely different from other
products/services of the existing competitors in the market. Thus, branding helps the
customers to make decisions whether to purchase a product/service from that brand or
not.
 Physical environment: Physical surroundings or environment has significant influence
to chose or purchase a product/service from a business. As an example, Lim (2010)
mentioned that the settings and decoration of the restaurant that cane termed as physical
environment helps to create positive image about the business among the customers and
thus help to influence their behaviour during the purchase. Lim (2010) also mentioned
that there is significant influence of physical environment within restaurants whereas

43. lightening, furnishing, sent, music and different other environmental factors among
them influence on customer satisfaction.
 Price: Price of a product and/or service is the foremost factor in customer satisfaction.
Price is set out in accordance with the value of the product/service of a business. For
instance, Khan (2011) has mentioned that majority of the customers express their level
of satisfaction of particular products and services based on the price of those products
and services compare to other businesses. So, price is one the most important
determinant to measure the level of customer satisfaction of a product/service of a
business.
 Taste of products: Lim (2010) has stated that there is significant correlation between
taste and customer satisfaction within restaurants or fast food business. Lim (2010) has
noted that many researchers have concluded and suggested restaurant business has to

44. focus on the taste of the foods in relation increase customer satisfaction, as the taste of
foods provides positive attitude towards products and thus increase their level of
satisfaction for the next purchase.
Leon and Leslie (2006) have described that customer satisfaction is one of the most vital
aspects of a restaurant business, while the degree of customer satisfaction provided by the
goods and/or services as measured by the number of repeated customers. They have also
mentioned that intense competition and high quality expectation from customer have forced
fast food industry to transform from a product-centric approach to a customer-centric
approach.
Grigoroudis and Siskos (2010) have mentioned following aspects in relation to customer
satisfaction within fast food industry, including McDonald’s and Burger King-

45. 1. Customer satisfaction provides most reliable and appropriate market information and
thus based on the market information, the organizations can develop and implement
strategies to satisfy their customers;
2. Customer satisfaction is vital to explore market opportunities for a business;
3. Customer satisfaction can be used to understand customers’ behaviours as well as to
identify and analyse customers’ expectations, needs and desires toward the business;
and
4. Customer satisfaction helps an organization to reveal potential differences in the service
quality perceptions between the customers and the management of the business
organization.
Hall and Mitchell (2000) have emphasized that despite rapid globalization of the food market
in many destinations, homogenization of production or consumption is not a certainty. In

46. fast-food industry, customer satisfaction is one of the most important strategic tools used for
building a company’s brand image. Further, the phenomenon of customer satisfactions in this
industry is of critical importance for organizational success especially due to the
heterogeneity of the product and the service involved as well as also due to the fast changing
customers’ requirements. In many researches customer satisfaction has been probed as most
important factor on overall firm’s performance as it directly affect the flow and enormity of
customer traffic of the fast food restaurants. Thus, from the above discussion and explanation,
it is clear that customer satisfaction is becoming key issue and concern to achieve competitive
advantage by a business, like fast food industry.
B. Customer satisfaction at McDonald’s
McDonald’s is the world’s largest food service retailer with more than 30,000 restaurants in
over 119 countries. The company is recognized a growing trend in the quick service

47. restaurant industry toward timely and accurate customer service. The company has been
following innovations and using different technologies for the purpose providing quality
products and services to the customers (Astute Solutions, 2012). McDonald’s is the largest
fast food chains in the world. The company has been performing different activities to satisfy
its customers. However, in accordance with data collected by the American Consumer
Satisfaction Index (ACSI) reveals that McDonald’s ranks in last place in customer
satisfaction, despite being the top fast food company in terms of revenue (The
HuffingtonPost.Com, Inc., 2012). The data from ACSI shows that the company was highest
in customer satisfaction in 1995.
ACSI is a national economic indicator of customer evaluations of the quality of products and
services. The ACSI uses data from interviews with roughly 70,000 customers annually for

48. measuring customer satisfaction. Since 1995, McDonald’s has consistently ranked last,
according to the ACSI. However, there is good news: The restaurant, which serves tens of
millions of customers a day, had a rating of only 59 back on 2000. This year’s ranking is the
best ever for McDonald’s (CBS Local Media, 2012). Based on the survey carried by ACSI
(2012), it is clear that McDonald’s has the lowest score in customer satisfaction compare to
other fast-food industry around the USA and other international countries.
In all fairness to the food and service at McDonald’s, even though they rank last, they have
been showing some improvements, such as reducing price, introducing new menu, facilities
to customers at stores, ensuring cleanliness and tidiness within stores etc. They have ranked
dismally last since 1995 and at one point in 2000 their level of satisfaction was only 59%, in
2012 it is 73% which is an increase from 2012. McDonald’s executives take these findings
seriously and have been trying to give the customers what they want (Esteves, 2012). On the

49. other hand, McDonald’s vice president of operations, Jim McCabe has said that the company
has been performing better and continuously making progress in satisfying customers. He
also noted that in fact, the producers of the ACSI said that McDonald’s customer satisfaction
is at an all-time high (Farberov, 2012). Farberov (2012) has represent following figure to
shows that how McDonald’s has been ranking below average on customer satisfaction-
The researcher has derived information from ACSI (2012) that shows the position of
McDonald’s in customer satisfaction compare to other competitors in the U.S. and other
international markets. The results can be shown in a table as follows-
Table: 2.1. Results on customer satisfaction at fast-food businesses
Name of
restaurant
2009 2010 2011 2012 Previous
year %
change
First year
% change
Papa
John’s
75 80 79 80 1.3 15.9
Wendy’s 76 77 77 78 1.3 8.3
Pizza Hut 74 78 81 78 -3.7 13.0

50. KFC 69 75 75 75 0.0 11.9
Burger
King
69 74 75 75 0.0 13.6
McDonald’s 70 67 72 73 1.4 15.9
Source: ACSI, 2012
From the above table, it is clear that McDonald’s has been ranking lower since 2007 to 2012
among major and top ten fast-food chains both in the U.S. and in the international
markets. McDonald’s is one of the best known brands in the world. The business has been
building its brand through continuous listening and responding to its customers about their
choices and preferences towards the business (McDonald’s, 2012). Having identifying its key
audiences, such as customers and target market, McDonald’s has been developing and
implementing marketing mixes for the purpose of satisfying customers and increasing their
loyalty to the business. For example, in the UK due to changes in technological aspects, the
business has introduced new food production techniques, free Wi-Fi services, services while

51. driving etc. All of these efforts have been taken in relation to increase customer satisfaction
(McDonald’s, 2012).
Another example shows that through marketing, McDonald’s establishes a prominent
position in the minds of customers that is known as branding of McDonald’s (McDonald’s,
2012). To support this argument at McDonald’s customer satisfaction, Dhavale (2012) has
mentioned that McDonald’s focuses not only delivering on sales for the immediate present,
but also protecting its long term brand reputation. He has also mentioned that the business has
been developing a sophisticated networked operation and distribution system in relation to
achieve consistent product taste and quality across the nations in the world. As concluding
remarks, Dhavale (2012) has stated that McDonald’s thinks according to the customers’

52. tastes, value systems, lifestyles, language and perception that reflect the commitment of the
business to increase and improve customer satisfaction.
Fitzgerald and Moon (1996) have mentioned that the employees of the McDonald’s have
been focusing on the particular demands and expectations of the customers to increase their
level of satisfaction on the products and services at the business. They have also mentioned
that most of the employees at McDonald’s are talking constantly with the customers to get
their feedback and suggestions and thus develop business policy to reduce customers’
complaints in relation to increase customer satisfaction at the business compare to other
competitors in the fast-food industry. At the end, based on the information revealed from
ivythesis.typepad.com, 2011, the author would like to concluded that McDonald’s
employees, such as general employees, like crew members and managers are responsible to

53. communicate and interact with the customers to get their feedback and suggestions about the
products and services and thus take initiatives and decisions to overcome major drawbacks in
providing products and services in more convenient ways to increase customer satisfaction.
The commitment of McDonald’s to employees also reflects the practices and policies of
increasing and improving customer satisfaction in the UK and other international markets.
McDonald’s has been recruiting or hiring people to ensure quality products and services to
the customers. Based on the information obtained from City and Guilds (2012), the
researcher would like to mention that McDonald’s has been providing training to staff while
seeing immediate improvements in customer satisfaction. The information shows that
McDonald’s aims to develop employees’ knowledge and skills so that they improve their
performance meet the highest quality standards and deliver customer satisfaction. It is all

54. about the effective day-to-day running of each restaurant and how every apprentice can
contribute to improve and increase customer satisfaction (City and Guilds, 2012).
So, it is clear that analysis of customer satisfaction at McDonald’s in comparison with Burger
King is relevant and appropriate research project.
C. Customer satisfaction at Burger King
Burger King Corporation is a fast food restaurant chain which opened its doors in 1954,
specialising in flame broiled hamburger sandwiches known as Whoppers. The company
became famous for their marketing of those hamburgers to customers through the “Have It
Your Way” advertising campaign during the 1970s. Continuing this customer satisfaction
pursuit, Burger King makes it easy for dining patrons with customer service related issues to

55. contact them directly by telephone, through a written letter or in person at any restaurant
location (Kimberling, 2012).
Burger King and its franchises operated over 11,000 restaurants in the U.S. and 57 countries
and international territories around the world, producing 2000 system wide sales of $11
billion in 2004 (Trustees of Dartmouth College, 2004). According to Hasanali et al. (2005) in
response, Burger King undertook extensive research to better understand the key drivers of
customer satisfaction in fast food. Through statistical analysis, Burger King determined that
the four most critical drivers are quality, service, cleanliness, and value. However, Bruton
(2010) has mentioned that Burger King is losing customers because of four main reasons-
marketing approach is not appropriate and effective compare to other competitors; the slow
process in making food; less focus on kids; and changes in product recipe etc.

56. A new report from the National Customer Satisfaction Index indicates that customer
satisfaction with restaurants in the United Kingdom is on an upswing. Specifically, limited-
service restaurants achieved an all-time high score for customer satisfaction, with 76 points
out of 100. Within the restaurant category, Burger King showed the most improvement in
British customer satisfaction, jumping to 71 from 66 point, and passing McDonald’s.
Nevertheless, McDonald’s improves from 68 to 69, its highest customer satisfaction score to
date (Kelso, 2012).
Burger King has been developing and implementing several policies and activities to improve
and increase customer satisfaction. For example, Sidhu (2010) has mentioned that Burger
King has recently released a new method, known as monitoring customer flow within store
through cameras of customer service. The purpose of developing this method is to monitor

57. and assess the movement and behaviour of customers within the store. Based on the
customers behaviour, Burger King has been improving and modifying service approaches and
practices to ensure quality services to them (Sidhu, 2010).
Burger King says that, in an increasingly challenging market, the customer experience is a
vital driver for retaining existing customers and attracting new business. In this case, the
business has introduced a program known as GUEST TRAC in the UK. The information
collected is fed back to the entire Burger King system in real time and is specifically targeted
to the company’s operational focus on food quality, cleanliness and speed of service
(Promotional Marketing, 2012). The researcher has revealed information from Customer
Service Scoreboard.Com (2012) that shows that customer service at Burger King is ranked
176 out of the 576 companies with an overall score of 45.65 out of a possible 200 based upon

58. 288 ratings. However, this score reflects that customer service and customer support at
Burger King is disappointing.
Pride and Ferrell (2011) have mentioned that Burger King, a leading fast-food chain depend
on repeated purchases from satisfied customers, whereas customer expectations revolve
around high-quality food, good value and dependable service. The business has been focusing
on all of these issues to satisfy customers and thus to increase brand image and loyalty in
fast-food business. So, the analysis of customer satisfaction at Burger King in comparison
with McDonald’s is relevant and appropriate research project.
The researcher has obtained information from Ivythesis.typepad.com (2012) that shows that
both McDonald’s and Burger King has been offering same or similar products and services to
compete in the fast-food markets, however, each business has its own approach to deliver

59. quality products and services to its customers to satisfy them and thus to increase customer
loyalty. For example, as for the products, both McDonalds and Burger King are the largest
consumers of beef/meat products, and sometimes producing the mind ongoing McDonalds-
Burger King conflict (Hruby, 2004).
Another example shows that both McDonald’s and Burger King has been providing better
working environment for their employees to offer best services to the customers. For
instance, however, the industrial experts quoted that working in Burger King is more
advisable because of the dining quality and therefore, it also leaves a positive image on the
customers in the areas of maintenance and cleanliness. This fact is also considered as an
advantage and has the implication as being the most desirable working place (Highhouse, et
al., 1999). According to Kennedy (2012), McDonald’s and directs rivals Burger King
consistently score very similarly on the ACSI survey, with Burger King stores generally

60. outperforming by a small margin. This was the story again this year, with Burger King
commercial properties sitting on 75 per cent satisfaction to McDonald’s 73 per cent.
D. Tools and techniques to measure customer satisfaction
A business may obtain more success and profits from satisfied customer and thus in this case,
customer satisfaction can be considered as most important aspects of that business. Customer
satisfaction measurement can be viewed as the process of measuring behavioural approach of
the customers. There are several tools and techniques that have been using for the purpose of
measuring customer satisfaction in service-based business, including fast food business, such
as McDonald’s and Burger King. The researcher has reviewed some of the following major
tools and techniques in relation to measure customer satisfaction in fast food business-

61. i. SERVQUAL model: Service quality model, known as SERVQUAL model is widely used
tool to measure customer satisfaction. This model has been developed by Zeithaml in 1985.
The model is based on some specific items, such as tangibles, reliability, responsiveness,
assurance and empathy etc. against which the level of satisfaction of a customer is measured
and assesses for a particular business. SERVQUAL model is defined as the difference
between the customer’s expectations for the service being offered and his perceptions of the
service actually received (Zeithaml, 1985).
ii. Expectancy-disconfirmation model: Oliver (1981) has developed Expectancy-
disconfirmation model in relation to measure customer satisfaction. Expectancy-
disconfirmation theory posits that customers form their satisfaction with a target product or
service as a result of subjective (or direct) comparisons between their expectations and
perceptions. Customers are directly asked to provide their perceptions or evaluations of the

62. comparisons, using a `worse than/better than expected’ scale. The expectancy-
disconfirmation model asserts that customer satisfaction is a direct function of subjective
disconfirmation. Churchill and Surprenant (1982) have noted that the level of expectation by
a customer and the perception of that customer about a product/service can be regarding as
important factor that influencing customer satisfaction. So, the expectancy-disconfirmation
model can be used to measure the level of customer satisfaction at any business, including
fast-food business, like McDonald’s and Burger King.
iii. Means-end-model: Zeithaml (1988) has developed means-end model in respect to
determine perceived value of a customer that has significant influence on customer
satisfaction. Based on this model, it is clear that perceived value is a direct antecedent of a
purchase decision and a direct consequence of perceived service quality that ultimately affect
the customer’s satisfaction. As an example, Parasuraman (1997) has mentioned that the role

63. of customers’ perceived value in understanding consumer behaviour is remarkable and thus it
can be noted that means-end model of perceived value is important tool and technique to
measure customer satisfaction.
iv. Behavioural intentions model: Brady and Cronin (2000) have mentioned that the
measurement and determination of behavioural intentions of customers can be used to
measure the level of satisfaction of a customer on particular product/service of a business. As
an example, Anwar and Gulzar (2011) have described that the behavioural intentions, such as
word of mouth of a customer has been playing vital roles to increase number of customers as
well as customer satisfaction on particular product/service from a business.
The researcher will apply above mentioned models during the primary data collection to
explore and analyse overall policies and practices of customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and
Burger King.

64. Theoretical framework of research
The researcher would like to provide brief description of each issue that lead to customer
satisfaction as follows-
i. Product/service feature: Oliver (1997) has defined customer satisfaction as the process of
judgment that a product or service feature, or the product/service itself. So, the overall
features of the product or service is prime concern in customer satisfaction. For example,
West (2012) has mentioned that the quality of a product and/or service builds positive image
among the customers and thus they make purchase decisions as they become satisfied with
that quality in product and/or service. Thus, it can be predict that the overall features and
description has vital influence on customer satisfaction (Hypothesis-1).
ii. Customer’s expectation: Customers’ expectations are key determinants of their
consumption experiences, satisfaction, and loyalty (Ofir and Simonson, 2001). It is now

65. widely accepted that exceeding customer expectations is key to customer satisfaction, delight,
and loyalty. So, it can be assume that customer’s expectation positively affecting customer
satisfaction (Hypothesis-2).
iii. Customer’s perception: Customer’s perception is defined as the perceived value against
expected value of a particular product/service of a business (Oliver, 1997). As an example,
Ho and Zheng (2003) have mentioned that customers will be satisfied if their perceived
delivery times are shorter than their expectations in service delivery business. Thus, it can be
said that customer’s perception is interrelated and interconnected with customer satisfaction
(Hypothesis-3).
iv. Customer’s decision making process: A series of activities involved in customer’s
decision making process for purchase a product and/or service from a business. The steps of
customer’s decision making process include information search, finding and evaluating

66. alternatives, best value of product/service and simplest means to get the product/service and
finally post-purchase behaviour of the customers etc. (Ferrell and Hartline, 2010). It can be
assume customer’s purchase decision making process is positively related with customer
satisfaction (Hypothesis-4).
v. Customer’s post-purchase behaviour: The positive or negative feedback on a particular
product and/or service of a business after buying or consuming of that product and/or service
can be considered as customer’s post-purchase behaviour (Ferrell and Hartline, 2010). So, it
can be noted that customer’s post-purchase behaviour has significant influence on customer
satisfaction (Hypothesis-5).
Conclusion
The review of literature shows that customer satisfaction is becoming key concern for a
business, particularly for fast-food business. Due to recent market competition and increased
demands and expectations of customer, a business has to develop and implement several

67. policies and practices to satisfy its customers. The researcher has identified some of the great
contributions from several authors and scholars on customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and
Burger King. The researcher has also identified some gaps in knowledge and understanding
of customer satisfaction. At the end, the researcher would like to opine that this chapter was
most important and vital to make standard research report with valid conclusions and
recommendations in accordance with issues and concerns in the field of customer satisfaction
at McDonald’s and Burger King that identified from the review of literature.
Chapter 3: Research methodology
Introduction
Research methodology is one the most vital chapter/part within a research project. According
to Saunders et al. (2009), research methodology helps the researcher to develop effective and
appropriate methods to collect relevant data from different sources, such as primary,
secondary and tertiary etc. The research methodology helps the researcher to establish

68. research instrument, i.e. the development and implementation of interview, survey,
observation etc. for the purpose of collecting primary data. Thus, it can be noted that this
chapter will be able to provide overall description of the research methodology in relation to
collect all relevant data and information in accordance with the comparative study of
customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King.
Research philosophy
Research philosophy depicts the development and nature of knowledge involved in research
project. It is the approach that denotes what are doing by the researcher during the research
activities (Collins, 2010). He has mentioned that there are three core approaches that reflect
research philosophy and these include-
 Epistemology- is the study of the theory of knowledge, including the nature, scope and
limitations on it;

69.  Ontology- is the philosophical study of the nature of being or existence; and
 Axiology- is the study of quality or value, and is often concerned with ethics and
values.
The most common research philosophies include- positivism, realism, interpretivism and
post-positivism (Saunders et al., 2009). Based on the positivism research philosophy, the
researcher believes that the reality is stable and can be observed and described from an
objective viewpoint, i.e. without interfering with the phenomenon being studied. This
research philosophy is involves in the manipulation of reality with variations in only a single
independent variable in relation to form relationships between variables (Saunders et al.,
2009). Realism research philosophy describe that knowledge is socially created. According to
realism research philosophy, the researcher may view of the research topic from different
views and hence the researcher may follow theory building approach to provide general

70. descriptions of the research topic (Chia, 2002). The interpretivist research philosophy
describes that only through the subjective interpretation of and
intervention
in reality as well as the study of phenomenon in their natural environment helps the
researcher to fully understand the reality of under research project. Post-positivism asserts the
value of the values, passion and politics in research in considering with the viewing the whole
picture and taking a distanced view or an overview of the subjects under research project
(Saunders et al., 2009).
The researcher has explored and analysed customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger
King through measuring customer satisfaction towards the organizations and in this case

71. positivist research philosophy was most appropriate to collect all relevant data and
information from primary and secondary sources.
Research approach
The validity of a research project may depend on the approach taken by the researcher to
collect data. Depending on the research approach, the researcher has to use most effective and
appropriate research methods in relation to collect qualitative or quantitative or both from
primary source(s). According to Cresswell (2007), there are mainly two research approaches,
such as qualitative and quantitative. In qualitative research approach, data comes in the form
of description and narration and the main sources of data include- physical observation,
interviews etc. In quantitative research approach, data comes in the form of number and the
main sources of data include- survey, document review and analysis etc. (Cresswell, 2007).

72. The other two most common research approaches include- inductive and deductive research
approaches (Saunders et al., 2009). The inductive research approach moves from specific
observations to broader generalizations and theories, while the deductive research approach
moves from more general to the more specific theories.
In this research project, deductive research approach has been followed for the purpose of
developing a specific theory on customer satisfaction from general observations on it at
McDonald’s and Burger King. The researcher has collected data from primary and secondary
sources through conducting interview, survey and document analysis etc. So, it can be said
that both qualitative and quantitative research approach have been applied to collect all
relevant data to explore and analyse the comparative study of customer satisfaction at
McDonald’s and Burger King.
Data collection methods

73. It is very important to identify and use most appropriate method(s) in relation to collect all
relevant data and information from different sources. According to Saunders et al. (2009),
there are several methods that can be used for data collection and the researcher has to
identify the most appropriate ones. The researcher has used two most effective research
methods, such as semi-structured interview and questionnaire survey for the purpose of
collecting primary data on the customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King.
Semi-structured interview is widely used and open framework that allows the researcher to
develop focused, conversational and two-way communication approach to collect data. The
researcher has used semi-structured interview with management personnel of McDonald’s
and Burger King to collect primary data. Questionnaire survey is another effective and
appropriate research method to collect data from mass population on particular issue or

74. subject and thus helps the researcher to develop specific theory based on broad and general
perceptions of the mass population. The researcher has also used questionnaire survey with
customers at four different restaurants of McDonald’s and Burger King.
The researcher would like to mention some the advantages and possible disadvantages of the
used methods, such as interview and survey in a table as follows-
Table: 3.1. Data collection methods and their advantages and possible disadvantages
Data collection
methods
Advantages Possible disadvantages
Semi-structured
interview
To collect most appropriate and relevant
data from key personnel of case studied
organization(s);
To explore and analyse key existing
theories and practices within the case
studied organization(s);
To develop two-way communication
system, i.e. between the interviewer and
the interviewee in relation to create
flexibility in data collection.
It is one the most time
consuming research method to
collect data;
It requires skill and experience
of the interviewer to conduct
interview in effectively to
collect all relevant data from
the case studied
organization(s).
Questionnaire
survey
To collect large number of data from mass
population;
To get general perceptions and opinions on
research topic from mass population; and
It is one the most effective practical
research methods that helps the researcher
It may have lack of validity of
findings;
It is difficult to analyse large
volume of data to develop
specific theory(s) on research
subject; and

75. to create new theory(s) based on collected
quantitative data.
It is lack of truthfulness and
honesty in some cases.
Source: Author’s analysis
Sampling strategy and sample size
Sampling is one the most vital part to collect data from the case studied organization(s).
Bryman and Bell (2007) have defined sampling is a process of segmenting of a group of
people from mass population for the research investigation. They have mentioned that
sampling can be of probability sampling and non-probability sampling. In probability
sampling, there is equal chance of each sample to be select during the interview and/or survey
and this method is one the most common and effective to ensure minimum error during the
data collection from mass population. On the other hand, in non-probability sampling, there is
no equal chance of being selected each unit or person during the collection of data from them
and in most cases, the unit and/or person is pre-selected for the data collection (Bryman and

76. Bell, 2007). It is one the most effective sampling strategy to collect data from pre-defined
group of people about certain issues.
The researcher has followed simple random sampling in relation to select respondents at four
different restaurants of McDonald’s and Burger King (i.e. two restaurants of McDonald’s and
two restaurants of Burger King). The interview conducted with two management personnel of
each restaurant of McDonald’s and Burger King. The survey carried out among fifty
respondents of each restaurant of McDonald’s and Burger King.
Data analysis tools and techniques
Data analysis is an effective and efficient method of analysing large sets of data collected
from different sources (Gupta, 2007). Data analysis is very important task for the researcher
to prepare standard research report. The researcher has to use different tools and techniques
to analyse collected data and some the most common ones include- Microsoft excel,

77. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) etc. (Gupta, 2007). Data analysis techniques
include univariate analysis, bivariate analysis and multivariate analysis etc. Univariate
analysis depicts single-variable distributions and their analysis, while bivariate analysis
depicts two-variable distributions and their analysis. On the other hand, multivariate analysis
refers to all statistical methods that simultaneously analyse multiple measurements on each
individual or object under investigation (Hair et al., 1995). Thus, it is clear that data analysis
tools and techniques can take the form of simple descriptive statistics or more sophisticated
statistical inference. The researcher has used some statistical tools and techniques for the
purpose of analysing quantitative data and some descriptive methods to analyse qualitative
data, which has been collected from interview and survey. The researcher has used different
Microsoft office packages to analyse data collected from primary data secondary sources of
both McDonald’s and Burger King.
Data presentation techniques

78. Data presentation is one the most common and important part within research report that
helps the researcher to represent all of the collected data in an easy-to-understand way (Alabi,
1999). He has mentioned that data can be summarized and presented in various forms and
some of the major common ones include-
 Tabulation- data present in tabular form, a table is an array of data in rows and columns
that represent large mass of data that provides distinct pattern of the data; and
 Diagrammatic representation- data present in various forms, such as pictogram, pie
chart, bar chart, histogram and line graph etc. for the purpose of better visual
presentation of the data (Alabi, 1999).

79. The researcher has used different data presentation techniques, including tabulation,
pictogram, and other techniques to present both qualitative and quantitative data collected
from primary and secondary sources of both McDonald’s and Burger King.
Validity, reliability and generalization
Validity is one the main concerns with research. Validity is an indication of how the research
is valid and more specifically, validity applies to both the design and the methods followed
and used in the research project. Thus, validity refers to the soundness of the interpretation of
scores from a test, the most important consideration in measurement (Thomas et al., 2011).
They have mentioned that there are four basic types of validity and these include- logical,
content, criterion and construct validity. Logical validity refers degree to which a measure
obviously involves the performance being measured. Content validity refers degree to which
a test adequately samples what was covered in the subject. Criterion validity refers degree to

80. which scores on a test are related to some recognized standard or criterion. Construct validity
refers degree to which a test measures a hypothetical construct, usually established by
relating the test results to some behaviour (Thomas et al., 2011). The researcher has ensured
the validity of the research through developing research design in such a way to collect all of
the relevant issues and concerns of customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King.
Pilot study has been done in relation to ensure validity of the research questions as well as in
relation to modify and improve research questions to collect most effective and appropriate
data on the customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King.
Reliability is defined as the extent to which a questionnaire, test, observation or any
measurement procedure produces the same results on repeated trials. In short, it is the
stability or consistency of scores over time or across raters (Miller, 1998). As an example,

81. Miller (1998) has mentioned that the degree to which an individual’s response on a survey
would stay the same over time is one the common sign of reliability. There are three aspects
of reliability that include- equivalence, stability and internal consistency. The researcher has
maintained of all these aspects in relation to ensure reliability of data and in fact, research
report itself. The researcher has represented data in appropriate format that has been ensured
that the findings were reliable. The researcher has also presented data in such a way that
reflects the general perceptions and opinions of customers are reliable through comparing
results from interview. Generalization refers to the approach of generalisation of research
findings. In simply, generalization denotes the general aspects of the research findings to
similar or different research issue. The researcher has presented data in standard format and
with appropriate analysis that can be applicable for same or other sectors in terms of
comparative study of customer satisfaction.

82. Consideration of ethical issues
There was key focus on the maintenance of ethical issues in this research project. For
example, the author has cited and acknowledged appropriately both in text and bibliography
of all previous research works that have been used to explore existing theories and practices
on customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King. The researcher has maintained
confidentiality, integrity, honesty, objectivity and so on while collecting both primary and
secondary data from McDonald’s and Burger King. So, the author want to say there was great
effort to ensure the maintenance of all relevant aspects of ethics involved in the completion of
a research project from review of literature to data collection as well as during the preparation
of final research report on the comparative study of customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and
Burger King.
Conclusion

83. Research methodology has crucial influence and importance on the completion of research
activities. Research methodology helps the researcher to develop effective and appropriate
research design and framework for the purpose of collecting primary and secondary data
from the case studied organization(s). Under this chapter, the author has covered all of the
things involved in research methodology for the purpose of collecting maximum response
from the respondents both in semi-structured interviews and questionnaire survey. Thus, the
researcher would like to opine that this chapter has covered all of the relevant issues and
concerns of research methodology to develop standard research report in the field of
comparative study of customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King.
Chapter 4: Data Presentation
Introduction
Data presentation is one the most common and important chapter within a research report.
The researcher has to present collected data in an appropriate format in relation to provide

84. clear explanation of the primary research findings. In this chapter, the researcher has
provided data presentation that was collected through semi-structured interview and
questionnaire survey through two major parts, such as presentation of interview data and
presentation of survey data. The researcher has used most effective and appropriate format(s)
and method(s) to present both qualitative and quantitative data. For example, to present
qualitative data, the researcher has used descriptive statistics methods, such as description of
interview results and to present quantitative data, the researcher has used inferential statistics
methods, such as percentage. At the end, it can be noted that under this chapter the researcher
has presented all of the data collected from semi-structured interview and questionnaire
survey from McDonald’s and Burger King.
Presentation of interview data

85. The researcher has conducted four semi-structured interviews with the management
personnel of both McDonald’s and Burger King. Each interview has containing more than 20
questions and the duration of each interview was at least 30 minutes. The researcher has tried
to developed more interactive and communicative approach during the conducting semi-
structured.
The researcher would like to present the primary research findings from semi-structured
interview as follows-
i. Demographics of the interviewees: The researcher has conducted interviews with two
management personnel of McDonald’s and two management personnel of Burger King. The
demographics of the interviewees can be shown in a table as follows-
Table: 4.1. Demographics of the interviewees at McDonald’s and Burger King

86. Demographic characteristic McDonald’s, UK Burger King, UK
Position and Age of the
interviewee
Store Manager was 35 years
old. Team leader was 30 years
old.
Assistant Store Manager was
32 years old. Team Leader
was 29 years old.
Gender of the interviewee Both Store Manager and Team
Leader were male.
The Assistant Store Manager
was female and Team Leader
was male.
Duration of working at
position
The Store Manager has been
working for more than 2 years
at this position. Previously he
worked at different position at
McDonald’s. The Team
Leader has been working for
more than 3 years.
The Assistant Store Manager
has been working for more
than 4 years. The Team
Leader has been working for
more than 2 years.
Source: Interview data
ii. Defining customer satisfaction at fast-food industry: The definition of customer
satisfaction is very subjective and varies person to person. For the purpose of identifying
most appropriate definition of customer satisfaction at fast-food industry, the researcher has
asked the interviewees to define customer satisfaction. Based on the interview results, the
definition of customer satisfaction at fast-food industry can be represent as follows-
 Store Manager at McDonald’s has defined customer satisfaction as the level of
satisfaction by a customer after purchasing and consuming foods from a business.

87.  Team Leader at McDonald’s has defined customer satisfaction is the positive approach
and feedback of customer after buying and eating foods from a restaurant.
 Assistant Store Manager at Burger King has defined customer satisfaction is the overall
satisfaction of a customer during the purchase and consuming products/foods from a
company, like Burger King.
 Team Leader at Burger King has defined customer satisfaction as a process of assessing
positive attitude and likeness of particular products and/or foods from a particular
business.
iii. What are the common factors affecting customer satisfaction at fast-food industry:
The interview results show that there are some major and common factors that have been
affecting customer satisfaction within fast-food industry. The researcher would like to
summarize the interview results on factors affecting customer satisfaction as follows-

88.  The quality of the foods is prime concern that affects customer satisfaction greatly at
any fast-food business, stated by Team Leader of Burger King.
 The price of the foods is another most common and important factor that affect
customer satisfaction of a fast-food business, mentioned by Assistant Store Manager of
Burger King.
 The location and the physical setting of the restaurant have been playing vital roles to
attract customers and thus help to build positive image about the restaurant and its
foods. So, it can be noted that the location and physical setting of the restaurant have
influence on customer satisfaction, described by Team Leader of McDonald’s.
 Finally, the brand name and brand image of the business is considered as vital factor to
build strong branding among the customers and thus helps to increase overall
satisfaction of a customer, noted by Store Manager of McDonald’s.

89. iv. What are the key competitive edges of the company that has been increasing
customer satisfaction: The key competitive edge is the most unique feature of a business
that has vital influence on the overall satisfaction of a customer. The researcher has obtained
most relevant and effective data in relation to the key competitive edges of the McDonald’s
and Burger King during the semi-structured interview. The interview results can be shown in
a table as below-
Table: 4.2. Key competitive edge of McDonald’s and Burger King
Store Manager/Assistant Store
Manager
Team Leader
McDonald’s One the key competitive edge of the
company is brand name and brand image.
The quality of the foods and commitment
to provide quickest services are another
competitive edge of the company.
The number of restaurants and the
location as well as the decoration
of the restaurant can be considered
as most unique feature or
competitive edge of the company.
Burger King The enhanced menu and quality of foods
as well as the price of the foods is the
prime aspect of the company that
increasing customer satisfaction.
Moreover, the commitment of the
company to build strong relationships
with customers can be termed as key
competitive edge of the company.
The focus on the customers
feedback and suggestions as well
as the overall approach of handling
customers’ complaints is one the
most effective and appropriate
feature or competitive edge of the
company.
Source: Interview data

90. v. How the company has been measuring customer satisfaction and taking actions to
increase customer satisfaction: A company can adopt many different ways to identify the
level of satisfaction and thus measures the overall approach of customer satisfaction. For
example, McDonald’s has been using customer satisfaction survey to hear from the
customers as well as recent experience of them at any restaurants of the company. The Store
Manager of McDonald’s has mentioned that the feedback from the customers has been
directing passing to the restaurants and based on the feedback the business has been
developing and implementing different actions to increase customer satisfaction for the next
time. In case of Burger King, the company has been using customer satisfaction tracker,
known as customer experience programme, one the most unique approach of measuring
customer satisfaction, stated by the Assistant Store Manager. The purpose of this program is
to investigate and analyse customer experiences in relation to retain existing customers and

91. attracting new customers. In addition, the Assistant Store Manager of Burger King has
mentioned that the information collected from customer satisfaction tracker program directly
fed back to the entire Burger King in real time and focus on the organization’s operational
aspects on food quality, cleanliness and speed of the service etc.
vi. What are the existing policies and practices of the company to satisfy customers: The
interview results show that both McDonald’s and Burger King have been using some unique
and most effective policies and practices to satisfy their customers. As an example, the Store
Manager of McDonald’s has said that the company has been collecting customers’ feedback
on shopping experience and thus taking initiatives to increase overall efforts to increase
customers’ satisfaction for the next shopping. On the other hand, as an example, the Assistant
Store Manager of Burger King has said that the company has been handling customers’
complaints in most effective and appropriate ways to reduce number of complaints as well as

92. to take actions in relation to address any concerns or complaints of customers. From the
interview results, it is clear that besides of these policies and practices both McDonald’s and
Burger King has been using some other tools and techniques to satisfy their customers.
vii. What are the future plans of the company to increase customer satisfaction: Both
McDonald’s and Burger King have planning to introduce different business strategies to be a
market leader in fast-food business in the UK. For this reason, both companies have future
plans to increase customers’ satisfaction. For example, the Store Manager of McDonald’s has
mentioned that the company is planning to focus on the different market segments, such as
kids, adult, and older customer segment. Based on the demands and expectation of all market
segments, the company is committed to introduce appropriate menu and balanced foods with
keeping great concern on healthy issue for each segment. So, the future plans of the company
will be able to increase brand image and thus help to increase overall customer satisfaction.

93. Another example shows that the Assistant Manager of Burger King has mentioned that the
company has focusing on the customers’ complaint management. For the purpose of effective
customers’ complaint management, the company has been planning to carry out customer
survey on regular basis and thus taking relevant actions throughout the entire Burger King
system to reduce number of customers’ complaint. Thus, it can be said that this plan is going
to help the company to reduce customers’ complaint and thus to increase customer
satisfaction.
Presentation of survey data
The researcher has carried out questionnaire survey among fifty respondents of both
McDonald’s and Burger King. The researcher has developed questionnaire through pilot
study and pilot survey and thus it can be noted that all of the questionnaire in survey were
most relevant and appropriate to explore and analyse customer satisfaction at McDonald’s
and Burger King. Each survey has nearly 20 questions and the researcher has selected

94. respondents on random basis to get perception about customer satisfaction at McDonald’s
and Burger King from mass population. The questionnaire survey results can be represent as
follows-
i. Gender distribution of the respondents: Based on the survey results, the researcher
would like to represent the gender distribution of the respondents in a table as follows-
Table: 4.3. Gender distribution of the respondents at McDonald’s and Burger King
Gender Total number of
respondents
Percentage of
respondents
McDonald’s Male 27 54%
Female 23 46%
Burger King Male 35 70%
Female 15 30%
Source: Survey data

95. The survey results show that in case of McDonald’s more than half, such as 54% of the
respondents were male and rest, such as 46% of the respondents were female. On the other
hand, in case of majority, such as 70% of the respondents were male and rest, such as 30% of
the respondents were female. So, it McDonald’s has been experiencing both male and female
customers in almost similar percentage, but Burger King has been experiencing more male
customer than female customers.
ii. Age band of the respondents: The researcher would like to mention the age band of the
respondents of both McDonald’s and Burger in a table as follows-
Table: 4.4. Age band of the respondents at McDonald’s and Burger King
Age Total number of
respondents
Percentage of
respondents
McDonald’s 20-29 15 30%
30-39 12 24%
40-49 18 36%
50-above 5 10%
Burger King 20-29 24 48%

96. 30-39 10 20%
40-49 9 18%
50-above 7 14%
Source: Survey data
McDonald’s and Burger King are serving different aged customers. For example, the age
group of 20-29 years represents 30% of respondents at McDonald’s that belongs to the
second highest percentage of customers within the business while the same age group
represents 42% of respondents at Burger King that constitute the highest percentage of
customers within the business. Another example shows that McDonald’s have been providing
services to 36% of the customers at the age of 30-39 years, on contrast, Burger King have
only 26% of the customers at the age of 30-39 years. The survey results on the age band thus
show that both McDonald’s and Burger King have been providing services to different age
group customer at different percentage.

97. iii. Defining customer satisfaction by the respondents: During the survey, different
respondents have defined customer satisfaction from different perspective. Based on the
survey results, the researcher would like to mention the most relevant and appropriate
definition of customer satisfaction as of ‘the positive attitudes of a customer towards a
business because of their products, services and other aspects after buying or consuming of
those products and/or services by the customer’. Thus, the definition of customer satisfaction
reflects some of the major aspects, such as the quality of products, the service quality, the
practices to offer best things to customers and other related business activities etc. of a
business that involves satisfying customers.
iv. How frequently the respondent visits the restaurant, like McDonald’s and Burger
King: The survey results on the frequency of visiting at McDonald’s and Burger King by the
respondents. Based on the survey results, the author would like to mention that both

98. McDonald’s and Burger King having almost same or similar frequency of visiting by
customers at their restaurant. For instance, 32% customers are visiting twice a week at
McDonald’s and 36% of customers are visiting twice a week at Burger King. At McDonald’s
about 14% customers are visiting more frequently while at Burger King about 18% customers
are visiting more frequently.
v. Do the respondents like McDonald’s/Burger King compare to other fast-food chains
in the UK: The survey results in relation to overall likeness of McDonald’s and Burger King
compare to other fast-food chains in the UK. The survey results show that majority, such as
76% of the respondents have said that they like McDonald’s compare to other fast-food
chains in the UK. On the other hand, almost similar percentages, such as 72% of the
respondents have mentioned that they like Burger King compare to other fast-food chains in
the UK.

99. vi. What are the common factors that affect customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and
Burger King in the UK: The researcher would like to represent the survey results in relation
to the common factors that affect customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King. The
survey results represent that there are several factors that can affect customer satisfaction of a
business, like McDonald’s and Burger King. For example, about 30% of the respondents of
Burger King have mentioned that the quality of products/foods is the vital factor that affects
customer satisfaction, on the other hand, only 14% of the respondents of McDonald’s have
mentioned that the product quality is important factor that affect customer satisfaction.
Another example shows that service quality is one the most common and important factors
that affect customer satisfaction and almost similar percentages of respondents, e.g. 26% at
McDonald’s and 24% at Burger King have mentioned that service quality affects customer
satisfaction.

100. vii. The level of satisfaction by the respondents with the overall customer service policies
and practices at McDonald’s and Burger King in the UK: The survey results on the
overall level of satisfaction with the overall customer service policies and practices at
McDonald’s and Burger King. The survey results show that half, i.e. 50% of the respondents
at McDonald’s are satisfied, followed by 30% are highly satisfied with the overall customer
service policies and practices within the business. On the other hand, at Burger King almost
half, such as 46% of the respondents are satisfied, followed by 36% are highly satisfied with
overall policies and practices for customer service within the business. At McDonald’s 4% of
the respondents have mentioned that they are highly dissatisfied with the overall policies and
practices for customer service while same percentages, i.e. 4% of the respondents have
mentioned that they are dissatisfied with the overall policies and practices of customer
service at Burger King.

101. viii. Suggestions and comments by the respondents to increase customer satisfaction at
McDonald’s and Burger King in the UK: The researcher would like to summarize the
suggestions and comments, mentioned by respondents of both McDonald’s and Burger King
for the purpose of increasing customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King as
follows-
 The company should focus on the current trends in fast-food markets and thus focus on
the demands and expectations of the customers of different segments;
 The company must be committed to deliver or offer quality products and services to the
customers as well as the company have to offer competitive price of their foods;
 It is important to develop and implement different business strategies in line with
customers’ feedback and suggestions, so the company should carry out market research
and collect customers’ feedback and suggestions on regular basis; and

102.  The company should build strong relationships with customers through focusing on
their economic, social and psychological perspectives.
Conclusion
In any research report, the presentation of data or primary research findings has significant
importance. The use of appropriate format and techniques to present all of the collected data
is another key concern for a researcher. In this research report, the researcher has used most
relevant and appropriate format and techniques to present data on the comparative study of
customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King in the UK. All of the relevant issues
and concerns of data presentation has been provided in most effectively and appropriately
including the presentation of all relevant primary and secondary research findings on the
comparative study of customer satisfaction at McDonald’s and Burger King in the UK.
Chapter 5: Discussion on research findings
Introduction

103. The discussion on research findings is one the most important part within a research report.
The researcher has to discuss both primary and secondary research findings with critical
analysis of those findings. Under the this chapter, the researcher has discussed and explained
both primary research findings, that were collected from primary sources, such as conducting
interviews and carrying out survey and secondary research findings that have been gathered
from secondary sources, such as existing documents of the case studied organizations, i.e.
McDonald’s and Burger King and different publications, such as books, articles, publications
etc. In accordance with the research findings discussion, the author has developed some
conclusive remarks and constructive recommendations about the research topic. All of the
conclusive remarks and constructive recommendations have been presented at the final
chapter of this research project.
Primary research findings

104. The researcher has obtained primary research findings through collecting primary data by
conducting interviews and surveys. The interviews have conducted with four management
personnel two of each restaurant, i.e. two from McDonald’s and two from Burger King. The
researcher has also collected primary data through carrying out questionnaire survey with the
customers of each restaurant.
A. Discussion on interview data: The researcher would like to discuss the interview results
as follows-
 The researcher has conducted with the management personal of the case studied
organizations, i.e. McDonald’s and Burger King. For example, at McDonald’s, the
researcher has conducted interview with Store Manager and Team Leader of a
restaurant located at East London, e.g. Commercial Road, Whitechapel, London. On the

105. other hand, at Burger King, the researcher has conducted interview with Assistant Store
Manager and Team Leader of a restaurant located at East London, e.g. Aldgate East,
Whitechapel, London. So, the selection of interviewees at McDonald’s and Burger
King and the location of the restaurant were most appropriate to explore existing
theories and practices to satisfy their customers.
 The definition of customer satisfaction is very subjective and varies among person to
person. This notion has been proved by the definitions of customer satisfaction
provided by the management personal of the case studied organizations, i.e.
McDonald’s and Burger King. For instance, the Store Manager of McDonald’s has
defined customer satisfaction as the level of satisfaction by a customer after buying or
purchasing foods from a business, on the other hand, the Assistant Store Manager of
Burger King has defined customer satisfaction as the overall level of satisfaction of a

106. customer during the buying or purchasing foods/products from a company. Thus, it can
be noted customer satisfaction is defined as the process of measuring and evaluating the
overall approach of satisfaction with a product/food of a business.
 There are different factors and aspects that can affect customer satisfaction. During the
interviews, the researcher has derived some the major and important factors that can
affect the level of satisfaction of a customer within fast-food industry and these include-
the quality of the foods is prime concern to satisfy customer, mentioned by Team
Leader of Burger King; the price of the foods, described by Assistant Store Manager of
Burger King; the location as well as the physical settings of the restaurant, noted by
Team Leader of McDonald’s; and the brand name and brand image stated by Store
Manager of McDonald’s.