The Effect of Extrinsic Product Cues and Customer Services/Sales Personnel on Restaurant Image, KPK, Pakistan

Abstract This research study analyzes the effect of extrinsic product cues (store name, brand name, price) and customer service on restaurant image of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan. The self-administered questionnaire was distributed among the customers of   six well known restaurants of two cities of KPK, Pakistan. The names of these two cities are Peshawar and Kohat. This research study uses regression and correlation techniques in order to analyze the relationship as well as effect between extrinsic product cues (store name, brand name, price) and customer service on restaurant image. The result of the study demonstrates that there is a significant positive impact of predictors on the response variable. The study recommends favorable extrinsic product cues and customer services enhance the image of the restaurant. Future research areas have also been indicated in this study. Key words: Brand name, Store name, Price, Customer service & Restaurant image

measures of restaurant image are store name; favorable price and customer service are also included in this study.

Restaurant Image
Image is the combination of overall impression of factual and emotional material (Oxenfeldt, 1974-75). Customers react to the stores characteristics factually as well as emotionally (Oh, 1995). According to Keaveney, Susan and Hunt (1992) retail store image is the whole impression of store that is perceived by consumers. Restaurant image is an important factor of the customer satisfaction and key for success. According to Downs and Haynes (1984) there is positive relationship exists between restaurant success and effective restaurant image. A good dining restaurant must focus on creating its image in the customers mind through upgrading in décor and interior design. Restaurant image affects the choice of the customers and frequency of their visits (Wang, 1990). Restaurant image plays a significant role to attract customers and make healthy market position within the competitive environment. The positioning concept is use for the identification and creation of an image (Renaghan, 1981;Oh, 1995). To have a competitive advantage, restaurant, must create uniqueness in its image, that must not simply duplicated by other restaurants. The loyalty of the customers becomes momentous when it is associated with the good dining restaurant image (Rosenbloom, 1981). Restaurant image consists of two attributes that is tangible and intangible. The physical properties or tangible attributes of the restaurant are its location, price ranges, interior design, layout and décor. Atmosphere and friendliness of personnel are intangible attributes. Restaurant image consists of negative and positive perception (Reid, 1983;Oh, 1995). Favorable customer"s treatment at restaurant will result in increase repetition of customers and unfavorable customer"s treatment results in minimum or no repetition of customers (Swinyard, 1977). Therefore, the image is an important factor for the marketing strategy and restaurant management.

Brand Name
According to Keller (1993) brand image is the perception that is held in consumer memory. Brand image awareness is found as an integral part of the brand equity (Aaker, 1996;Feldwick, 1996;Keller, 1993). Brand name represents the combined information about the product (Richardson, Dick & Jain, 1994). Strong brand name assists to stabilize the branded product even when its price is low (Della, Bitta, Monroe & McGinnis, 1981). Brand name positively effects on perception quality (Dodds et al., 1991). According to the report of Olshavsky (1985) a good quality brand could serve as a cue to the store image. This further suggested that positive store image in consumer mind depends on quality brand. One research study reported that customer perception about the quality of service affects on brand image (Aydin & Ozer, 2005). Awareness of the brand is the ability of the customer to familiar with the brand and its product category (Aaker, 1991). Brand awareness is high when quality of the brand is high (Keller, 1993). A strong brand image creates the main competitive advantage and encourages repeat purchases. One research study concluded that inferences made by the customers about quality of goods and services directly affects on image of the retail store (Baker et al., 1994). Therefore, quality goods and services are the key variable that influences on retail image. Brand name is the information and communication tool for potential customers (Stokes, 1985). According to Jacoby and Mazursky (1984) retail image could be enhanced by favorably evaluated brands as compared to less favorably evaluated brand. Zimmer and Golden (1988) reported that brand image plays an important role in improvement of consumer perception regarding retail image. This further demonstrates that brand image is comparatively more stable than the retail image. Brand image and the quality of merchandise are the main predictors of the retail image (Baker et al., 1994;Mazursky & Jacoby, 1986). This may also further suggested that favorable brand name, low price of quality merchandise will directly influence retail image. Image of the store can be enhanced by the strong brand name (Mazursky & Jacoby, 1986). So, the first hypothesis of this study is as follows: H1: Brand name has a significant positive effect on Restaurants image

Store Name
In the era of increased competition, markets become scrappier; stores consistently regulate the positioning strategies, varying their image to remain competitive. One research study measures the relationship between store image and customers loyalty with store and found positive (Lessig, 1973). Retailers spent million of dollars for designing, building and renovation of stores because to create a good image in the mind of their current and potential customers. One research study concluded that physical attraction of a store in the consumer mind highly correlated with patronage intention (Darden, Erden & Darden, 1983). The name of the stores is the informational tool to store image. Store name creates vibrant store image in customer"s minds. According to Zimmer and Golden (1998) consumer often used store names to explain the ideal store. Keaveney, Susan and Hunt (1992) reported that store name demonstrates summary, nature and form of the stores. Brand equity enhances the strength of the brand name, so store name is positively related with the image of the store. So the second hypothesis of the research study is as follows: H2: Favorability of the store name has a significant positive effect on Restaurants image Price Special promotion and favorable product prices/discount prices attract more consumers to retail store (Grewal, Monroe & Krishnan, 1998). Trade publications, reported that price promotions for the customers for margin maintenance have always been odd with each other. Price discount generates traffic in retail store such discounts may also have negative effects on quality of brand, internal references prices and store"s overall image. Rao, Akshay and Monroe (1988) brand name and price significantly effect on buyers perception and minimal effect on store name. Retailers mostly focus on promotional activities which involve price discounts to enhance the strength of potential customers and their purchase. Adaptation level for price judgment is called internal reference price and considered the average market price for a product class (Biswas & Blair, 1991). Winer (1986) referred to it as expected price and Kamen and Toman (1970) referred it as fair price. Adaptation level theory forecast that price discount in the promotional activities move consumers internal references prices. According to Zeithmal and Graham (1983) reference price depends on environmental information and product experience. Anderson, Fornell & Lehmann (1994) reported that favorable price is a significant factor for customer satisfaction because customers compare the price they paid with the value of service they get. The customers of the restaurant are sensitive for price fairness. Most of the dining restaurants around the globe down their prices for customers because customers are more passionate towards high quality and affordable food (Sanson, 1992). So the third hypothesis of the study is as follow: H3: Favorability of the price has a significant positive effect on Restaurants image.

Customer Service
Providing quality service is the critical issue in the hospitality industry. According to Zaithaml (1998) service quality is the judgment of the customers about the product excellence. One research concluded that quality product have favorable impact on purchasing choices of customers (Bruck, Zeithaml & Naylo, 2000). According to Garvin (1987) performance, reliability, durability, features, serviceability, conformance, perceived quality and aesthetics are the eight dimensions of quality product. Garvin (1987) further recommended that if product has some of those dimensions, this will result in more satisfied customers. Food quality is considered as an important ingredient of quality product in restaurant industry (Siguaw & Enz, 1999). According to Henson and Trail (1993) food quality is distributed in four attributes that is food safety, value, nutrition and package. Another research revealed that quality of the product is the significant factor of dining satisfaction (Yuksel & Yuksel, 2002). The overall service quality is categorize in three way i.e. customer and employee interaction, service environment and outcome (Bintner, 1991). The organizational functional and technical quality, product service, delivery service, favorable environment, responsiveness, understanding and assurances are the customer service quality attributes (Brady & Cronin, 2001). According to Soriano (2002) quality service are categorized into four dimensions i.e. quality of food (variety of menu, food innovation, food presentation, fresh ingredients and consistency of food), quality of service (tools, employee appearance and employee courtesy), Cost/value (competitively favorable food price) and Place (restaurant appearance, atmosphere, bathroom, parking, telephone and services). Another research study concluded that fresh ingredients and the food quality are the most important factor for the repetition of the same customer towards restaurant (Brumback, 1998;Sorino, 2002). A quality menu also plays a pivotal role for the attraction of customers in restaurant sector (Bowen & Morris, 1995). The main focus of the customers is in quality service (Soriano, 2002). Therefore, it is predicted that if quality service and quality food are offered by the restaurant customers become loyal to that specific restaurant. Comfortable restaurant atmosphere is also significant factor (Dulen, 1998). Owner of the restaurant must invest money to modify their appearance for the attraction of new customers (Soriano, 2002). So the fourth hypothesis of this study is as follows: H4: Quality customer service has a significant positive effect on restaurants image.

Conceptual Framework:
The conceptual framework of the study derived from above mentioned literature is as follows:

Research Methodology
Quantitative research technique was used in this research study. The research study investigated the effect of brand name on restaurant image. The research study collected the data from 6 restaurants of KPK Province of Pakistan. In this study, unit of analysis was individual and study type was cross sectional. The distribution of questionnaires was mainly focuses on the customers of the restaurant and their views had been taken. The SPSS version 16.0 software was used for the checking the normality of the data and statistical analysis. For the analysis of two variables, that is brand name and restaurant image, at first descriptive analysis were measured and then regression, correlation was calculated between (IV"s) and (D.V).

Questionnaire:
The instruments used to gather the data was questionnaire. The questionnaire was borrowed from the research thesis of (Eliwa, 2006). The questionnaire contains total 59 questions in 5 sections. The first section gathered the data from customers regarding dining characteristics, dining frequency, selection of restaurant, money spent for beverages and food and the purpose of dining at fine dining restaurant. Second section contains 27 questions to asses the satisfaction level of customers. The respondents rate their satisfaction level on 7 point Likert scale i.e. 1 for being not satisfied, 4 for neutral and 7 for very satisfied. Section 3 contains 16 questions in which respondents are asked to rate the image of the fine restaurant and was also rated at 7 point Likert scale i.e. 1 for disagree and 7 for strongly agree. Section 4 contains 4 questions that explore respondent"s views of their overall satisfaction level. Section 5 of the questionnaire is used for gathering the demographical information of the respondents, which is age, gender, income level and marital status etc.

Sample:
The data was collected form the customers of six restaurants of the KPK, Pakistan. From six restaurants two were taken from Kohat, namely, Shelton Hotel (SH) and Speenghar Restaurant. Remaining four restaurants were taken from Peshawar, namely Sheraz In (SI), Pearl Continental (PC) Hotel, Chief Burger (CB) and Charsi Tika House (CTH). Among the customers of six restaurants total 250 questionnaires were distributed. In the restaurants of Kohat, Shelton and Speenghar, 25 questionnaires were distributed in each restaurant and total 50 usable questionnaires were returned, response rate was 100%. Of the total 25 respondents of SH, Kohat, 15 were male and 10 were female. The respondents of Speenghar Kohat were 20 male and 5 female. In the restaurants of Peshawar, SI, PC Hotel, CB and CTH total 200 questionnaires were distributed among the customers. In Sheraz In restaurant total 50 questionnaires were distributed and 25 usable questionnaires were returned, response rate was 50%. The male respondents were 18 and female respondents were 7. In PC Hotel Peshawar total 50 questionnaires were distributed and 30 usable questionnaires were returned, response rate was 60%. The male respondents were 15 and female were also 15. In CB restaurant total 50 questionnaires were distributed and total 40 questionnaires were returned, response rate was 80%. The male respondents were 35 and female were 5. In CTH total 50 questionnaires were distributed and 30 usable questionnaires were returned, response rate was 60%. The male respondents were 28 and female were 2. Total 175 out of 250 usable questionnaires were returned, on scrutiny, giving a response rate of 70% which is termed as good. The final sample consists of 175 staff members including male and female of six restaurants of Peshawar and Kohat area of KPK. Respondents ranged in age from their early 20s to over 50. The Male represents 131 of the total sample 175 which shows 74%, and Female represents 44 of the total sample 175 which represents 25%. There were more men than women in the sample.  The above table shows male and female respondent"s age and gender. The male represents are 131 and female respondents are 44. Male represents 74% of the total sample 175 and female represents 25% of the total sample 175. Inter-item reliability coefficient i.e. Cronbach"s alpha for brand name, store name, price, customer service and restaurant image are mentioned above. To delete an item from  (Sekaran, 2003). So therefore, the above captioned reliability statistics value of five variables shows that there is no any problem of deletion of questionnaire items.

Correlation Analysis
Pearson correlation between restaurant image and brand name, store name, price and customer services are as follows. The value of the Pearson correlation lies between -1 and +1. The value -1 represents negative relationship between variables and the value +1 demonstrate positive relationship between the variables, whereas 0 exhibit no relation. The following is the table which shows the correlation matrix between (I.V"s) and (D.V) *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
The above caption table demonstrates the correlation matrix of brand name (BN), restaurant image (RI), store name (SN), Price (P) and customer service (CS). The result analysis shows that there is positive and significant relationship exists between these all variables at 0.01 and 0.05 levels.

Regression Analysis
Multiple regression analysis used in this study in order to analyze impact of predictors on respond variable. Multiple regression model is as follows: Y = α+β 1 X 1 +β 2 X 2 +β 3 X 3 + β 4 X 4 +ε……….. (1) Where Y is Restaurant Image (dependent variable) RI = α + β 1 BN + β 2 SN + β 3 P + β 4 CS + ε………………… (2) Where RI = retail image (D.V) β 1BN= brand name (I.V) β2 SN= store name (I.V), β 3P = Price (I.V) β 4 CS = customer service (I.V). ISSN 2164-4063 2011  The F value is 134.185 and is significant because the significance level is = .000 which is less than P ≤ 0.05. This implies that over all regression model is statistically significant, valid and fit. Regression coefficient "R" = .871 or 87.1% relationship exist between (I.V"s) and (D.V). "R 2 " coefficient of determination = 0.759 which show that 75.9% of variation in retail image is explained by brand name, store name, price and customer service.  Regression coefficient for brand name (β 1) = .613, T value is 9.690 which is significant at .000 because significance level is less than P ≤.05. It implies that the alternate hypothesis should be accepted that is Brand name has a significant positive effect on restaurant image. The regression coefficient (β 2) = .152 or 15.2 %, T value is 3.571 which is significant at .000 level which is less than the P ≤.05. It also implies that the alternate hypothesis should be accepted that is store name has a significant positive effect on restaurant image. The regression coefficient for favorable price (β 3) = .122 or 12.2 %, T value is 2.103 which is significant at .000. So research study accepted the alternative hypothesis that is price has significant positive effect on restaurant image. The regression coefficient of (β 4) = .150 or 15 %, T value is 3.499 which is significant at .05 level. So again alternative hypothesis should be accepted that is customer service has significant positive effect on restaurant image. ISSN 2164-4063 2011 Table 7 Collinearity Statistics

International Journal of Learning & Development
The above table shows the multicollinearity statistics. The tolerance value less than 0.20 or 0.10 indicates a multicollinearity problem (O"Brien & Robert, 2007). In the above table the tolerance values of all (I.V"s) are .354, .779, .421 and .771 which shows that the tolerance level is moderate and good. The reciprocal of the tolerance is known as the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF). The VIF 5 or 10 and above indicates the multicollinearity problem (O"Brien & Robert, 2007). In the above table VIF values of (I.V"s) are 2.828, 1.284, 2.375 and 1.296 which shows that the VIF level is also good and there is no any problem of multicollinearity. Eigenvalues close to 0 indicate dimensions which explain little variance. In above table value of 2, 3, 4 and 5 are near to zero which shows little variance in these variables. The condition index summarizes the findings, over 15 indicate a possible multicollinearity problem and a condition index over 30 suggests a serious multicollinearity problem. In above table values of condition index are in range of 1.00 to 12.159 which shows that there is very little multicollinearity issue between (D.V) and (I.V"s).

Discussion
This study examines the relationship as well as effect of extrinsic product cues (brand name, store name, price), customer services and restaurant image. For obtaining data, questionnaire was borrowed from the study of (Eliwa, 2006). The questionnaire was distributed among the customers of six restaurants of the KPK, Pakistan. From six restaurants two were taken from Kohat i.e. SH and Speenghar Restaurant and remaining four restaurants were taken from Peshawar i.e. SI, PC, CB and CTH. The random sampling was done and the response rate was 70%. Over all Cronbach"s alpha reliability of the questionnaire items were found (.90) and were good enough for data collection. The descriptive statistics shows that the majority of participants were male with age of early 20"s to 40 years and above. The hypotheses of the research study were analyzed through SPSS version 16.0. The first hypothesis of the study states that states that brand name has a significant positive effect on Restaurants image and was found significant in this study. The result of hypothesis one is consistent with previous study of (Olshavsky, 1985;Mazursky & Jacoby, 1986;Zimmer & Golden, 1988) which stated that a good quality brand name develops the good perception of restaurant image in customer minds. This study also supports the concept. The second hypothesis stated that favorability of the store name has a significant positive effect on restaurants image and was found to be significant. The result of the hypothesis two is consistent with the study of (Lessig, 1973;Keaveney and Hunt, 1992) which stated store name and customer loyalty with the specific store is positively correlated with each another. The third hypothesis stated that the favorability of the price has a significant positive effect on restaurants image and also found to be significant. This finding was also supported by (Lehmann, 1994;Grewal, Monroe & Krishnan, 1998). The fourth hypothesis stated that quality customer service has a significant positive effect on restaurants image and also found to be positive in this study. This result was supported by the previous study of (Soriano, 2002;Zaithaml, 1998) The overall, regression value of extrinsic product cue (brand name, store name, price), customer service and restaurant image was .871 which demonstrates that 87.1% impact of predictors on response variable.

Conclusion
This research study found that extrinsic product cues (brand name, store name, price), customer services has a significant positive effect on the image of the restaurant. The multiple regression model shows the significantly strong relationship between set of 4 independent variables namely brand name, store name, price and customer service and dependent variable that is restaurant image. The regression coefficient R shows the value 0.871 which shows International Journal of Learning & Development ISSN 2164-4063 2011 87.1% proportion of variability between IV"s and DV and coefficient of determination R 2 .759 which shows 75.9% variation in D.V explained by I.V"s. Brand name, store name, price and customer service explained 61%, 15.2%, 12.2% and 15% of variation respectively towards dependent variable that is restaurant image. Overall, the results revealed that brand name, store name, favorable price, customer service and restaurant image were positively and significantly correlated with other. Extrinsic product cues and quality service for customers are found to be significant importance in the restaurant image perception. Moreover, extrinsic product cues and quality customer services were found to have a positive impact on the image of the restaurant. This also brings benefits in terms of higher productivity, better organizational performance, competitive advantage and increased customers quantity and product quality.

Recommendation
The extrinsic product cues and the quality customer services are very pivotal tool in order to develop the good image of restaurants in consumer mind. In this way overall restaurant productivity and effectiveness can be enhanced. It is important to develop such an atmosphere where customers are well satisfied with the services they get. In this way customer become loyal with the particular restaurant or store and his/her frequency to visit the same store will increase. So it is strongly recommended for the managers of the restaurants that they must focus especially on the excellent extrinsic product cues and better customer services for their restaurants.

Future Area for Research
The area for further research is, an in-depth analysis of more restaurants of Pakistan to comprehend some other factors contributing towards the image of the restaurants.