Do Customer Complaints Differ by Restaurant Types? Evidence from Online Reviews

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the service failures experienced by foreign tourists according to different restaurant types. Document analysis was used as a data collection technique and content analysis was used as a data analysis method in this qualitative study. Within the scope of the study, negative customer comments with ratings (1) terrible and (2) poor made on the internet for fine-dining and casual restaurants in Antalya were evaluated. The findings show that service failures related to food, service, pricing, and employees are experienced in both restaurant types. Service failures related to physical factors are only experienced in fine-dining restaurants. Although most service failure categories are included in both restaurant types, the types of service failures in these categories differ. Differing from the current literature, this study aimed to investigate whether customer complaints differ according to restaurant type.