Abstract:
Th e purpose of this article was to determine the infl uence of demographic variables on customers’ experiences in
formal full-service restaurants in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Th e questionnaires were distributed at selected
formal full-service restaurants, and a total of 400 questionnaires were included in the statistical analysis.
Th e data analysis consisted of the experiences of respondents with diff erent demographic variables, one-way
analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-tests. Th e results indicated that on a 5 point Likert scale, respondents’
mean experience scores varied between 3.84 and 4.53. Customers of diff erent genders rated experiences of
service signifi cantly diff erently (p<0.05). Customers from diff erent age groups rated their experiences of
food and beverage, service and overall experiences signifi cantly diff erently (p<0.05). Customers from different
monthly income groups rated their experiences of food and beverage, service and overall experiences
signifi cantly diff erent (p<0.05). Customers with diff erent levels of education rated their experiences for food
and beverage, service and overall experiences signifi cantly diff erent (p<0.05). Consequently, the experiences
of customers for food and beverages and service were infl uenced by their gender, age, monthly income and
level of education. Formal full-service restaurateurs should therefore focus on customers’ gender, age, monthly
income and level of education in order to improve customer experiences and gain a competitive advantage
over other restaurant categories.
