Events and Tourism Review Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 1-15, DOI: 10.18060/26117 Copyright © 2022 Thi Kim Anh Luong and Jennifer Hussey This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Events and Tourism Review June 2022 Volume 5 No. 1 Customer Satisfaction with Food Quality in Buffet Restaurants in Vietnam Thi Kim Anh Luong Jennifer Hussey Technological University Dublin, Ireland Correspondence: Jennifer.Hussey@TUDublin.ie (J. Hussey) For Authors Interested in submitting to this journal? We recommend that you review the About the Journal page for the journal's section policies, as well as the Author Guidelines. Authors need to register with the journal prior to submitting or, if already registered, can simply log in and begin the five-step process. For Reviewers If you are interested in serving as a peer reviewer, please register with the journal. Make sure to select that you would like to be contacted to review submissions for this journal. Also, be sure to include your reviewing interests, separated by a comma. About Events and Tourism Review (ETR) ETR aims to advance the delivery of events, tourism and hospitality products and services by stimulating the submission of papers from both industry and academic practitioners and researchers. For more information about ETR visit the Events and Tourism Review. Recommended Citation Luong, T. K. A & Hussey, J. (2022). Customer Satisfaction with Food Quality in Buffet Restaurants in Vietnam. Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 1-15. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ mailto:Jennifer.Hussey@TUDublin.ie http://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/jet/about http://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/jet/about/submissions#authorGuidelines http://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/jet/user/register http://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/jet/user/register http://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/index/login https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/ETR/user/register http://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/ETR Luong, T. K. A. & Hussey, J. (2022) / Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 1-15. 2 Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 1-15, DOI: 10.18060/26117 Copyright © 2022 Thi Kim Anh Luong and Jennifer Hussey This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Abstract Food quality (FQ) has been recognized as one of the fundamental factors that affects customer satisfaction in restaurant operations, yet research on buffet restaurants is still underdeveloped. This study focused on diners’ perceptions of buffet restaurants in Vietnam to (1) determine the most important dimensions of FQ, (2) identify the relationship between FQ dimensions and customer satisfaction, and (3) identify the relationship between the overall FQ and customer satisfaction. A total of 143 valid responses to a self-administered online survey were obtained. This study found that according to these respondents, food freshness is the most important variable followed by food taste, food presentation, menu variety, food temperature, and healthy food options. The results of regression and correlation analysis reveal that among the six dimensions of FQ measured, food temperature is the only attribute that is significantly related to customer satisfaction. Nevertheless, the overall FQ significantly contributed to customer satisfaction. It implied that restauranteurs operating this style of restaurant, should not only pay attention to FQ but especially food temperature, which is often overlooked in other forms of restaurants. Keywords: Food Quality Perceptions; Buffet Restaurants; Food Quality Attributes; Customer Satisfaction Analysis Food quality (FQ) has been gaining researchers’ attention due to its importance to customer satisfaction (Sulek & Hensley, 2004; Ha & Jang, 2010; Rozekhi et al., 2016), yet more research about FQ attributes in the form of buffet restaurants is required (Ramanathan et al., 2016; Bilog, 2017). Therefore, this study contributes to the literature on FQ dimensions in the buffet restaurants sector in Vietnam. Customers, nowadays, have more options in restaurant choices due to the variety of cuisines, styles of service and prices (Liu & Tse, 2018), leading to heightened competition among restauranteurs seeking competitive advantage (Raab & Mayer, 2007). Hence, understanding the important attributes that consumers consider when selecting a restaurant is essential for restaurant operators (Liu & Tse, 2018) and building customer satisfaction is a key priority for success in such highly competitive markets (Hanaysha, 2016). Food has and will continue to have a substantial impact on customer satisfaction (Kannan, 2017). Many studies have found that food quality (FQ) is the factor that positively affects customers’ satisfaction in diverse forms of restaurants (Namkung & Jang, 2007; Al-Tit, 2015; Rozekhi et al., 2016; Almohaimmeed, 2017). The buffet form of restaurant has been expanding, where people pay a fixed amount of money for unlimited food (Lucas & Santos, 2003; Raab et al., 2009). However, unlike in other service sectors, where multiple scales and methods have been applied to evaluate service quality (Oyewole, 2013b), little research has been carried out to measure the performance and critical factors present in the buffet sector (Ramanathan et al., 2016; Bilog, 2017). Customer Satisfaction with Food Quality (FQ) Customer satisfaction in services has been defined as the degree to which the service https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Luong, T. K. A. & Hussey, J. (2022) / Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 1-15. 3 Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 1-15, DOI: 10.18060/26117 Copyright © 2022 Thi Kim Anh Luong and Jennifer Hussey This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. performance can encounter or surpass the customer expectations (Pakurar et al. 2019). Satisfaction represents the driving force for customers to return and repay, as well as triggering word-of-mouth after experiencing the service (Ramanathan, 2016). The mainstream research has focused on factors like food quality, service quality and setting of restaurants in relation to customer satisfaction (Kivela et al., 2000; Ha & Jang, 2010); yet FQ frequently appeared as the most significant factor that impacted on dining fulfilment and return patronage (Arora & Singer, 2006; Kim et al., 2009; Jung et al., 2015; Filimonau & Krivcova, 2017). FQ has a positive influence on customer satisfaction, which in turn positively affects customer revisit intention (Namkung & Jang, 2007; Al- Tit, 2015; Rozekhi et al., 2016; Almohaimmeed, 2017). Meanwhile, the form of all-you-can-eat buffet has been growing globally; however, there are still very few studies on this field (Oyewole, 2013b), especially investigating individual FQ dimensions (Lee & Whaley, 2019). Food Quality (FQ) Dimensions Prior research has recognized FQ as a key element contributing to customers’ expectations (Sulek & Hensley, 2004; Jeong & Jang, 2011; Zhong & Moon, 2020). Rhee et al.’s (2016) research on several types of restaurants, found that factors that link with food (food attributes) have a profound impact on customer choices. The conceptual model employed by Kivela et al. (1999b) and Namkung and Jang (2007) focused on six dimensions of FQ, listed as: “food presentation, menu item variety, healthy options, taste, freshness, and temperature”. Food Taste Lee and Whaley (2019) revealed that food taste is the most important factor in diners’ satisfaction with their dining experience. Notably, Scott (2005) claimed that the hedonic pleasure of food would be developed by human’s sense of taste. Additionally, for Garcia-Bailo et al. (2009), individual perceptions of food taste can significantly influence their dining habits. Food Presentation Food presentation is described as the colour, display and decorating of food in order to make food be more appealing (Alhelaili et al., 2015). Food appearance is often the first of diners’ senses stimulated, before they can smell and taste the food; hence, it is an important determinant of perceptions of FQ (Namkung & Jang, 2007). Healthy Food Options Sulek and Hensley (2004) reported that restaurants that offer more healthy items witnessed an increase in customers’ interest. Similarly, Johns and Tyas’s (1996) research, found that customer perceptions and evaluation of a restaurant may strongly be linked with healthy food. Previously, Kivela et al.’s (1999b) findings, showed that one of the core attributes mentioned that impacted customer satisfaction was nutritious food. Indeed, the offer of nutritious food has been shown to be positively related to dining satisfaction and repeated patronage (Kim et al., 2013; Prinsen et al., 2013). Variety of Food (Menu Variety) The diversity of foods or menu variety embraces a wide range of different food items displayed on the menu. To increase the engagement of customers, restaurant operators incessantly launch new menus that offer diverse foods and drinks (Bashir et al., 2013). Ramanathan et al.’s (2016) research in fine dining restaurants mentioned that customer satisfaction is directly affected https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Luong, T. K. A. & Hussey, J. (2022) / Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 1-15. 4 Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 1-15, DOI: 10.18060/26117 Copyright © 2022 Thi Kim Anh Luong and Jennifer Hussey This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. by the diversity of menus, whereas others discovered that a weekly changeable menu creates chances for chefs to innovate and develop more food items, which resulted in more customer involvement (Rozekhi et al., 2016). Freshness of Food Péneau et al. (2006) defined freshness as the fresh state of food that includes the following characteristics such as “crispness, juiciness, and aroma”. Johns & Tyas (1996), Kivela et al. (1999a), and Acebrón and Dopico (2000) agreed that freshness of food is one of the most significant quality requirements. Furthermore, the finished dish should be served as soon as possible (Oyewole, 2013a).For Rozekhi et al. (2016), Malaysian diners paid more attention to the freshness of dishes, as they believed it could provide more benefits for their physical health. Food Temperature Food temperature could be considered as a feature to evaluate the quality of food (Johns & Tyas, 1996; Kivela et al., 1999a). Delwiche (2004) highlighted the relationship between temperature and customers’ evaluation of food flavor, as the temperature of food strongly relates to other sensory aspects such as smell, taste, and sight. Food should be served and maintained at an appropriate temperature, as the customers’ hedonic enjoyment and satisfaction is affected by the food temperature (Kahkonen et al., 1995; Kannan, 2017). Few studies had divided FQ into its dimensions for an in-depth investigation (Rhee et al., 2016; Bilog, 2017). Accordingly, this study sought to explore the following three objectives: Objective 1: To determine which dimensions of FQ are most important to customers in buffet restaurants. Objective 2: To identify the effect of different FQ dimensions on customer satisfaction in buffet restaurants. Objective 3: To identify the effect of overall FQ on customer satisfaction in buffet restaurants. Methodology The target population of interest for this study was people aged over 18 years who visit buffet restaurants in Vietnam. Non-probability sampling was applied in the form of convenience sampling, allowing access to a wide sample despite the difficulties associated with geography and the current Covid-19 circumstances (Zikmund, 2003). Primary data was collected by using online self-administered questionnaires. Gunter et al. (2002) argued as online questionnaires basically are answered while no interviewer present, the pressure to provide social desire responses is reduced. As a result, by eliminating the interviewer’s presence, both participant and interviewer bias were removed. The survey questionnaire was adapted from past research items, with each dimension of Food Quality captured through 3 sub-items that required a response on 7-point Likert-type scales, to capture levels of agreement or disagreement with research related statements. The 7-point Likert scale was adapted from the research of Oliver (1997), indicating the level of agreement ranged from 1 - “strongly disagree” to 7 - “strongly agree”. Using an online Google Form the survey was conducted in Vietnamese and the data was translated into English. The questionnaires were delivered online within one month (September 2021) via Facebook, Email, and Zalo. There were 143 valid questionnaires obtained after eliminating all incomplete responses. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Luong, T. K. A. & Hussey, J. (2022) / Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 1-15. 5 Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 1-15, DOI: 10.18060/26117 Copyright © 2022 Thi Kim Anh Luong and Jennifer Hussey This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Limitations This study is limited in the sample size achieved (N=143) and the convenience sampling approach undertaken, meaning the results are not generalizable. Data Analysis Data was statistically analyzed by using a descriptive test to generate the general information of respondents (Aaker et al., 2007), a simple regression to assess the relationship between one dependent variable and one independent variable (Freund et al., 2006) (in this case, the overall FQ and customer satisfaction), and using correlation and multiple regression analysis to examine the effect of different FQ dimensions on customer satisfaction (Rozekhi, 2016; Kannan, 2017), to assess the strength of relationships between pairs of variables (Saunders et al., 2009), so as to determine which variable was most important to customers. Results As shown in Figure 1, 2 and 3, there were three questions included in the questionnaire aiming to develop the participants’ profile including: age, gender and frequency of using buffet restaurant. The gender distribution was 69.2% females and 29.4% males. The majority of respondents were aged between 18 and 25 years old (63.6%), and frequented buffet restaurants less than once a month (68.5%, n = 98). Figure 1: Age Breakdown (N=143) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Luong, T. K. A. & Hussey, J. (2022) / Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 1-15. 6 Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 1-15, DOI: 10.18060/26117 Copyright © 2022 Thi Kim Anh Luong and Jennifer Hussey This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Figure 2: Gender Breakdown of the Participants (N=143) Figure 3: Frequency of Visits to Buffet Restaurants (N=143) Analysis In addition to Customer Satisfaction, each dimension of FQ was examined in respect of their mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum value (Table 1). Table 1: Descriptive Statistics Food Quality FQ attributes Items N Mean SD Min Max Food Freshness (F5) 1/ I do not notice whether the food looks fresh, succulent and juicy F5.1 143 6.52 0.71 3.67 7.00 2/ No off-flavor or off-colour food is essential for me F5.2 3/ I like food that is freshly prepared (no reuse) F5.3 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Luong, T. K. A. & Hussey, J. (2022) / Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 1-15. 7 Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 1-15, DOI: 10.18060/26117 Copyright © 2022 Thi Kim Anh Luong and Jennifer Hussey This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Food Taste (F2) 1/ I am happy with perfectly tasting food (salinity, sweetness, sourness, etc.) F2.1 143 6.44 0.64 3.33 7.00 2/ I do not care about food texture (tenderness, crispiness, etc.) F2.2 3/ I am happy with food that feel nice in my mouth (the overall taste, texture and smell) F2.3 Food Presentation (F1) 1/ I do not mind about food decoration F1.1 143 6.21 0.75 3.33 7.00 2/ I am happy with food that is neatly organized F1.2 3/ I am happy with food presented on an attractive/special plate F1.3 Menu Variety (F4) 1/ I like the menu with wide variety of choices for main dishes F4.1 143 6.21 0.84 3.67 7.00 2/ I prefer the restaurant to offer a wide variety of side dishes F4.2 3/ I am happy with the restaurant that offers a wide variety of drinks F4.3 Food Temperature (F6) 1/ Food that is not served at an appropriate temperature does not bother me F6.1 143 5.70 1.08 2.00 7.00 2/ I feel happy with ready-to-serve food that is kept warm at self- service buffets F6.2 3/ I am happy with raw food that is kept at a cold temperature for being fresh at self-service buffets F6.3 Healthy Food Option (F3) 1/ I like the restaurant that offers many types of salads and vegetables. F3.1 143 5.55 1.04 1.67 7.00 2/I do not notice much about nutritious food in restaurants F3.2 3/ I do not like oily food (food that contains too much fat) F3.3 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Overall satisfaction (OS) I am satisfied with FQ at my last Buffet Restaurant experience in HCMC. S1 143 5.69 0.97 2.33 7 I gave a high rating for that Buffet restaurant S2 I am pleased to have visited Buffet restaurants S3 I will recommend Buffet restaurants to my friends/family S4 Table 1 shows that the mean scores were all above neutral (level of agreement = 4) and they varied from 5.55 to 6.52, which indicated the range of agreement of respondents stays within “slightly agree” to “strongly agree” meaning all six factors of FQ are important to customers when choosing the buffet service. Particularly, the freshness of food got the highest mean score (6.52 ± https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Luong, T. K. A. & Hussey, J. (2022) / Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 1-15. 8 Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 1-15, DOI: 10.18060/26117 Copyright © 2022 Thi Kim Anh Luong and Jennifer Hussey This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 0.71), which means that the respondents agreed that this is the most important factor when using buffet restaurants. Food taste also received a very high score, at 6.44 ± 0.64. The importance of the healthy food option (mean of 5.55 ± 1.04) has the lowest score among the six dimensions. The descriptive analysis also displayed the results of overall customer satisfaction, and it showed the mean equal 5.69 ± 0.97, which is moderately high. Correlation Testing Reporting the Pearson correlation coefficient ranges from –1 to 1, correlation testing was used to determine the relationship between two or more variables (Hair et al., 2010). In this study, it was used together with the multiple regression analysis to show the relationship between each dimension with the overall satisfaction, following the research of Ramanathan (2016). Table 2: Correlation Matrix Food Presentati on Food Taste Healthy Food Option Menu variety Food Freshness Temperat ure of Food Ov eral l Sati sfa ctio n Food Presentation 1 Food Taste 0.3 1 Healthy Food Option 0.2 0.2 1 Menu variety 0.4 0.3 0.3 1 Food Freshness 0.3 0.4 0.01 0.193 1 Temperature of Food 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.4 1 Overall Satisfaction 0.10 0.15 0.17 0.19 0.20 0.30 1 Table 2 indicates that all six dimension of food quality are positively related to overall customer satisfaction. The food temperature has the highest correlation coefficient (0.3), which indicated that the temperature of food has a medium association with customer satisfaction. The other 5 variables have less of a correlation with overall satisfaction, but they are still on the positive side. Multiple Regression The multiple regression analysis was carried out to assess the relationship between the independent variables (FQ dimensions) and dependent variable (customer satisfaction) by using an equation to predict customer satisfaction based on changes in the FQ dimensions (Zikmund, 2003; Namkung & Jang, 2007). Table 3: Multiple Regression Results of FQ Attributes and Customer Satisfaction ANOVA Significance F 0.02 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Luong, T. K. A. & Hussey, J. (2022) / Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 1-15. 9 Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 1-15, DOI: 10.18060/26117 Copyright © 2022 Thi Kim Anh Luong and Jennifer Hussey This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Coefficient t Stat P-value Food Presentation -0.07 -0.58 0.56 Food Taste 0.00 -0.02 0.98 Healthy Food Option 0.10 1.27 0.20 Menu Variety 0.08 0.78 0.43 Food Freshness 0.16 1.30 0.20 Food Temperature 0.17 1.97 0.05 Adjusted R Square 0.0646 Observations 143 Table 3 displays the results of the regression analysis to show which dimensions of FQ are significantly related to customer satisfaction. The significant F = 0.02 < 0.05, thus, the data is appropriate for factor analysis (Zhong & Moon, 2020). The p-values in Table 3 indicate that the temperature of food is the only attribute that significantly influences customer satisfaction (p = 0.05) which corresponds to the results showed previously in the correlation analysis. The other five attributes are not significant as they all have p-values > 0.05. Hence, five variables are not significant predictors for customer satisfaction in buffet restaurants in Vietnam. The adjusted R square equals 0.0646, which means just 6.46% of the variation in customer satisfaction is explained by FQ dimensions. As only food temperature is the predictor for customer satisfaction, the multiple regression model would become a simple regression model showed as ŷ = 2.96 + 0.17x, which predicts the customer satisfaction based on the change of food temperature attribute. Simple Regression The simple regression analysis was applied to assess the relationship between overall FQ and customer satisfaction to see whether the overall FQ is a predictor for customer satisfaction. The overall FQ rating was obtained from the mean score of the six FQ dimensions. Table 4: Simple Regression Results of Overall Food Quality and Customer Satisfaction. ANOVA Significance F 0.0004 Coefficients t Stat P-value Food Quality 0.509 3.606 0.00043 R Square 0.0844 Observations 143 Table 4 indicates that the coefficient is 0.509 and p is significant at 0.00043 < 0.05, implying that the overall customer satisfaction is positively influenced by the FQ. The R square equals 0.0844, which means that 8.44% of variability of the customer satisfaction (ŷ) is explained by the FQ (x). From the analyzed results, the estimated model for predicting customer satisfaction can be https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Luong, T. K. A. & Hussey, J. (2022) / Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 1-15. 10 Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 1-15, DOI: 10.18060/26117 Copyright © 2022 Thi Kim Anh Luong and Jennifer Hussey This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. presented as ŷ = 2.515 + 0.509x. Discussion and Conclusion All six FQ dimensions had relatively high to very high mean scores which indicated that FQ is accepted as an important dimension by the participants. The respondents’ highest level of agreement was for the freshness of food (6.52 ± 0.71) when dining in buffet restaurants. This is similar to a previous US study that revealed that the freshness of food is the most important dimension in buffet restaurants in that customers desire food always to look and taste fresh (Oyewole, 2013a). This result is reasonable as in buffet restaurants, food is normally left out on the serving tables for a certain time, even a long period of time. In addition, perhaps, people in Vietnam are highly aware of the freshness of food because, in 2015, there was a serious scandal regarding turning rotten meat into fresh meat using potassium nitrate, which is harmful if it is used in high doses (Maguire et al., 2017). Therefore, people will be looking for food that is authentically fresh, newly prepared and frequently replaced or replenished. Ensuring the freshness of food can result in generating flavor-related value as well as maintaining a long-term profit bond with customers (Rozekhi et al., 2016). The importance of food freshness was followed by the importance of food taste, which had a mean score of 6.44 ± 0.64. Food taste is undoubtedly a factor that will be looked at by the customers when searching for any kind of restaurant not only buffet (Ramanathan, 2016) but also fine dining (Namkung & Jang, 2007), fast food (Min & Min, 2013), as the secondary results indicate customers feel happy with food that has perfect taste, good texture, and good mouthfeel (Oyewole, 2013a). The current study found that customers expect food to be neatly displayed, that concurred with Oyewole’s (2013a) results, as it positively affects customers’ perceptions about food (Namkung & Jang, 2007). Additionally, a menu that offers a wide variety of choice is essential to people who visit buffet restaurants, which confirms Oyewole’s research (2013a) suggesting that people visiting buffet restaurants seek extensive options on the menu. Food temperature scored a mean of 5.70 ± 1.08, which is quite similar to the descriptive results shown in the study of Ramanathan (2016) in Chinese buffet restaurants in the UK, indicating that food temperature received a lower ranking compared to other FQ attributes such as food presentation, food freshness, or food variety. However, this is still a moderately high score on the 7- point Likert scale. The final attribute in this study is the healthy food options (mean score of 5.55 ± 1.04), which confirms the findings of Rozekhi et al. (2016) in the context of buffet restaurants in Malaysia. In contrast to the research by Ramanathan (2016) in the UK, when respondents tended to give higher scores to the importance of low-calories and vegetarian dishes. This may be explained by the difference in respondents’ age groups. The research with younger aged respondents paid less attention to healthy food, compared to the one with more elderly participants. Arguably, different living standards may account for these differences, as in a developed country respondents are more health aware. Indeed, the studies in the US (Sulek & Hensley, 2004), and in Korea (Kim et al., 2013), where consumers have higher living standards were inclined to emphasize the importance of nutritious and healthy food. In contrast, in developing countries such as Malaysia and Vietnam, people might seek for hedonic fulfilment. The Relationship between Individual FQ Dimensions and Customer Satisfaction The correlation statistics (Table 2) indicated that all six dimensions have positive correlations with customer satisfaction; however, it must be emphasized that the relationships are https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Luong, T. K. A. & Hussey, J. (2022) / Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 1-15. 11 Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 1-15, DOI: 10.18060/26117 Copyright © 2022 Thi Kim Anh Luong and Jennifer Hussey This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. weak. The food temperature presented the strongest association with customer satisfaction in this study, and this corresponds to the results displayed in the multiple linear regression analysis. Table 3 indicates that only food temperature was a significant contributor to customer satisfaction. Similarly, research of Namkung and Jang (2007) and Kannan (2017) suggested that food temperature is also one of the characteristics of FQ enhancing the pleasure of the dining experience, thus, affecting customer satisfaction. This result was surprising as food temperature was only ranked in fifth place in the descriptive analysis; however, as it received a moderately high score, this dimension has been identified as a determinant variable of customer satisfaction. The respondents expressed their satisfaction with food that is served at an appropriate temperature. It means a hot dish should be served at a hot temperature and vice versa (Oyewole, 2013a). This is understandable as the temperature has been associated with other features such as food flavor and food appearance (Delwiche, 2004). The correlation coefficients (Table 2) between food temperature and food taste, and between food temperature and food presentation are both high (at 0.4 for both), which confirmed the observations of Delwiche’s (2004) study. Furthermore, in the context of buffet restaurants, food is normally prepared in advance and left out for a short or long period of time; therefore, it is difficult to keep the food at an appropriate temperature consistently. In Vietnam, the hot pot buffet is popular and prevalent, often consisting of raw vegetables, uncooked meatballs, even raw meat and seafood, which are easily damaged at normal temperatures. Hence, this could explain the importance of food freshness which had the highest level of importance, also correlation between food temperature and food freshness (Table 2) equals 0.4, which showed a high correlation compared to other pairs of variables. Therefore, to establish customer satisfaction during their dining experience, the restaurant operators need to focus on maintaining the appropriate temperature of the food during the serving time (Namkung & Jang, 2007; Oyewole, 2013a). Also, Vietnam is known for a tropical monsoon climate with an average temperature of 27oC, thus, food will spoil if left at ambient temperatures without food plates to maintain correct food temperatures (Oyewole, 2013a). On the other hand, food presentation and food taste, which were indicated to be significant to customer satisfaction in fine dining restaurants (Namkung & Jang, 2007), full-service restaurants (Bashir et al., 2013), and fast-food restaurants (Tama, 2015), are not significant in this study. Although these two elements were important to customers when utilising the buffet services, they are not contributors to customer satisfaction. Similarly, healthy food options, menu variety, and food freshness, are not significant to customer satisfaction in buffet restaurants in Vietnam. These primary results support the prior research of Namkung and Jang (2007), implying that those attributes are not significant. Yet, these findings contrast with the study of Rozekhi et al. (2016), who indicated that food freshness and variety of food were significantly related to customer satisfaction, and Kim et al. (2013), who suggested that healthy food was positively associated with customer satisfaction. This difference may be due to the demographics of the participants, as Namkung and Jang’s (2007) study shared similarities in the gender-breakdown (more than 60% were female), and a similar age profile. In contrast, in Kim et al. (2013) and Rozekhi et al.’s (2016) studies, had a more equal gender-split, and the age of 40s and 50s were dominant among the respondents. This may mean that people at older ages pay more attention to healthy food options, menu variety, and possibly food freshness. Another possible reason why they are not significant to customer satisfaction is that they might contribute to customer behavior or revisit intention as they showed their importance in the descriptive test. For instance, the healthy food options, which was not significant to customer satisfaction but significantly related to customer behavioral intention (Namkung & Jang, 2007). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Luong, T. K. A. & Hussey, J. (2022) / Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 1-15. 12 Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 1-15, DOI: 10.18060/26117 Copyright © 2022 Thi Kim Anh Luong and Jennifer Hussey This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Therefore, future studies should explore these attributes in relation to customer behavior, revisit intention, or even customer loyalty, and further explore the role of demographics. The Influence of Overall Food Quality on Customer Satisfaction Finally, the current study employed regression (Table 4) to reveal a strong relationship between FQ and customer satisfaction. The findings added evidence to previous research demonstrating FQ is a significant contributor to customer satisfaction. Specifically, in Ramanathan’s (2016) investigation of 11 food-related attributes which found that FQ is the most significant factor. Furthermore, FQ was also recognized as a crucial factor in satisfying customers when dining in fast- food, fine-dining, full-service, mid-scale, and up-scale restaurants (Joeng & Jang, 2011; Kannan, 2017; Liu & Tse, 2018; Rhee et al., 2016; Susskind & Chan, 2000; Zhong & Moon, 2020). In contrast, some research studies, such as Zhong and Moon (2020), perceived price is the most significant factor that affects customer satisfaction because price can drive the diners’ perceptions directly to a restaurant’s quality. Additionally, in Ha and Jang’s (2010) study, the researchers found that not only FQ but also service quality has a positive influence on customer satisfaction. Therefore, further research may investigate different aspects of restaurant operations. Although individual FQ dimensions when examined in isolation had a weak relationship to customer satisfaction, once combined as overall FQ, it becomes an essential factor contributing to customer satisfaction. Therefore, in order to achieve a high level of performance, as well as fulfil customers’ desire, the operators and managers in buffet restaurants always need to pay attention to FQ and its variables, especially the food temperature, when operating this type of restaurant. Given the literature indicates food taste is the most important factor in diners’ satisfaction which was not echoed by this study, this may indicate that Vietnamese buffet restaurants represent a special case, not generalizable to other dining experiences, raising the need for further research. Moreover, the explained variances in the regression models are relatively low, indicating more important factors remain unidentified necessitating further study. The influence of the age profile of respondents may also be worth exploring further. In terms of future research, more research should be carried out to understand customer satisfaction since in restaurant operations as the perceptions and demands of customers will always change over time (Lockyer, 2005; Harrington et al., 2012). 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