Product Quality and Services Offered by Seattle's Best, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and Bo's

Coffee: A Comparative Study

Key words: Product Quality, Service Quality, Contextual Experience, Customer Preference, Seattles Best, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Bos Coffee, Comparative study

Introduction

Nowadays, there is a proliferation of coffee shops especially since coffee has become an essential part of a typical persons life. It is what keeps a student awake during difficult periods (i.e. exams, projects, and other major requirements to be passed during the same week) in a semester. It [coffee] provides miraculous services to college students everywhere (qtd. Shaffer 2008). What the working class needs is to stay awake in the mornings, during work, meetings, etc., and to keep up with their hectic schedules. Moreover, Coffee usually serves as the preferred beverage during social occasions paired up with pastries or sandwiches that coffee shops offer.

Coffee shops rely not only on their coffee-based beverages to attract customers but also on their other products and services. Other beverages like non-coffee based drinks such as juice are also included in a typical coffee shops menu together with products like sandwiches, pastries, and pasta. As for their services, many coffee shops take pride in their accommodating staff, store atmosphere, and extra services like wi-fi, promotions, and discounts.

As observed, there is an existing competition between coffee shops along the Katipunan Avenue. Students from the Ateneo de Manila University and Miriam College usually go to these coffee shops for their study sessions. Employees of these universities, staff from different establishments, parents, and many more also go to these coffee shops for a cup of coffee. Three of the popular coffee shops in Katipunan are Seattle's Best, which is conveniently located beside the Gate 2 overpass within Kenny Rogers Roasters, the newly opened Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, which is also conveniently located across Gate 3, and Bo's Coffee that has both a spot within Ateneo, in the Matteo Ricci study hall and in the LS Bookstore, and in Katipunan near Miriam College.

We, the researchers, want to find out if there are significant differences between the product

quality and services offered by the three coffee shops aforementioned. We also want to know if the product quality and services offered affects the preferences of the customer to these coffee shops or not.

Objective of the Study

The objectives of this study are focused on having a more solid approach on the basis of students choice of coffee shop. Specifically, it aims to: 1. Assess the product quality and services offered by Seattles Best, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and Bos Coffee, 2. Determine the relationship between the frequency of visits of individuals to coffee shops and their overall satisfaction with Seattles Best, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and Bos Coffee, 3. Determine the relationship between the frequency of visits of individuals to coffee shops and their year level, and 4. Identify the preferences of individuals who go to these coffee shops according to the provided criteria of the researchers.

Hypotheses

There is no significant difference between the product quality and services offered by Seattle's Best, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and Bos Coffee. There is no relationship between the overall satisfaction customers have from Seattles Best, the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and Bos Coffee, and the frequency of visits. There is no relationship between the year level of the customer and the their frequency of visit to these coffee shops.

Review of Related Literature

It is a common observation that people usually go to coffee shops for different purposes, whether it be to study, to relax, to dine and/or to drink beverages, coffee-based or not. It was observed that it is during the stressful periods or hell week, as students from the Ateneo call it, that the number of students in coffee shops increase. It has also become a place where friends can get-together and catch up with one another. Couples have their dates while drinking coffee

before ending the night. Business people finish their paper work and conduct meetings with their clients outside the office (Nica. M). These are some concrete examples of what coffee shops are to people who visit them. Is it really for the goods and services it offers? Or maybe the ambiance? This is what the paper will be focusing on; customer preferences upon choosing which coffee shop to visit.

In our study, we will be dealing with different customer preferences in order to come up with a comparative analysis among the coffee shops. We define Customer Preference as a relatively positive feeling and can be viewed as the degree of how well an individual likes to consume. To predict peoples intended behavior, a widely studied Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) is used. In this theory (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975), the intention behaviour is influenced by beliefs and attitudes. Beliefs are defined as subjective perceptions of the consequence if an individual consumes the product. According to TRA, beliefs may further influence attitude that is defined as feelings in mind about the consumption. According to Zeithaml, quality and price affects the perceived quality value (the degree of how well the benefit of a product is felt) by a customer to a product. In this study, we also want to find out if it is true that when the perceived quality value of a product is high, the purchase of the product is high too; or if the perceived benefits (in this study, satisfying the purpose of the visit) of a customer from a certain coffee shop is high, customer preference to that distinct coffee shop will most likely be high.

Three of the major factors of customer preferences rely heavily on the Product Quality and Service Quality of the coffee shops, and also the contextual experience that a customer receive from the good that he/she bought. Product Quality is defined as the collection of features and characteristics of a product that contribute to its ability to meet given requirements. It is recommended that products offering value for money not only influence customers choice behavior at the pre purchase phase but also affect their satisfaction, intention to recommend and return behavior at the post purchase phase (Parasuraman and Grewal 2000). Furthermore, Service quality is the gap between what the customers want and what they actually get or perceive they are getting (Berry et al., 1988). Consequently, many companies would attempt to offer a high service quality in order to retain their customers. It has been empirically proven that high service quality motivates positive customer behavioral intention to repurchase, and in turn, promotes customer retention (Zeithaml et al., 1996). This implies that service quality is linked positively to customer loyalty. Actually, many studies have shown that quality is indirectly linked to repurchase intention and customer loyalty through customer perceived value (Yu et al., 2005;

Anderson and Sullivan, 1993). Contextual experience, on the other hand, is a measure of the overall level of customer satisfaction with a seller and the quality of experience a person has while interacting with the specific design or product. Experiences can be related to goods and services presented in a market that have its own distinct characteristics that customers judge based on its current price. In our study, these goods that bring about contextual experience are the coffee products, meals (such as pastries and sandwiches) and distinct services present in a shop (like wi-fi services, ambiance and customer service) that can satisfy the purpose of the visit (for academic purposes, for social occasion, for relaxation, for products served or for services offered) of a customer.

Coffee is known to contain caffeine which is ergogenic or a compound that intends to enhance physical performance, stamina, and recovery in mind, health, and strength (Pujalte). This is the main reason why students, business professionals, and almost anyone who needs an extra boost of energy, tends to drink coffee to keep them awake and maintain their concentration while working on finishing their duties on time (New World Encyclopedia).

Sandwiches are also available to order in coffee shops, which are considered as light meals. Seattles Best, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and Bos Coffee, serve a variety of sandwiches from their menu. Seattles Best serves Ham Sandwich, Salami Sandwich, and Clubhouse Sandwich (Seattles Best Coffee). Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf has Chefs Tuna Sandwich, Roast Beef Sandwich, Grilled Chicken Ceasar Sandwich, and Turkey and Melted Cheddar Sandwich (Coffee Bean and Teal Leaf) while Bos Coffee offers Bo's Turkey Club, Grilled Chicken BLT, Grilled Italian Veggie, Ham & Cheese Supreme, Hungarian Sausage and Egg, and Tuna Salad (Bos Coffee). Pastries are also present in the menus of all three coffee shops mentioned. In fact, Seattles Best reveals that their greatest secret on making their pastries such as cakes, croissants, waffles, and the like, is having coffee in mind (Seattles Best Coffee). They obtain pastries that would complement and bring out the flavors of their coffee-based drinks and give their customers the best experience when dining in their shop. The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, on the other hand, claims that their pastries are baked fresh every day and offers generous sizes and mouthwatering selections (The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf).

Different coffee shops have different claims regarding its product quality and services. Seattle's Best boasts of their "trademark coffee with a bold flavor and smooth taste" (Seattle's Best Coffee Philippines), the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf proudly serve only Primera,or the highest

quality coffee bean (The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf), while Bos Coffee claims that they are known for just-roasted freshness (Bos Coffee). In terms of service quality, Seattle's Best "has been satisfying coffee lovers' demand for great coffee, fueled by the simple notion that everybody deserves a more enjoyable coffee experience" (Seattle's Best Coffee) whilst on the other hand, Bo's Coffee believes that "its role is to provide that perfect cup of coffee and deliver it with warm and friendly customer service" (Bo's Coffee). On the contrary, the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf employees have dedicated themselves to providing excellence in the products they sell, the services they provide, and the environment where their customers shop (The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf). In this study, we will test if the coffee shops were really able to pursue their claims through analyzing satisfaction of different customer preferences to Product Quality, Services Quality and Contextual Experience offered by the coffee shops aforementioned.

Sampling Methodology

The statistical method that was used on the data gathered by the group is a non-probability sampling technique called the Convenience Sampling. Here, the researchers of the study got their sample population needed in their most convenient way possible (qtd. experiment.research.com). The researchers, being students of the Ateneo, have chosen three coffee shops located along Katipunan Avenue. Visited by a great amount of people every day, these shops are a great place to gather the sample group. Moreover, the subjects [customers spending time on the coffee shops] are more than willing to help, through answering the surveys, and are readily available to experimenters.

The group conducted a survey, both through traditional and online surveying, in three different coffee shops namely Bos Coffee, Seattles Best, and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.The survey contained different criteria that is to be rated by customers from 1 to 5; 5 being the highest. The results showed a total of 67 respondents with varying ratings and opinions.

Definition of Variables

In the study, varying independent and dependent variables were used. The first set of independent variable and dependent variable is the response in different criterion for goods and services and the coffee shops respectively. Therefore the treatments for One way ANOVA was the coffee shops and the responses were the sample per treatment.

One Way ANOVA was also used in determining the differences in the purposes of customers going to coffee shops. In this case, the treatments were the purposes.

The next set of independent and dependent variables were the overall satisfaction of customers to the three coffee shops and the frequency of their visits respectively. Linear regression was used in determining the relationship between the two.

The last set of independent and dependent variables were the year level of customers and their corresponding frequency of visits respectively. Linear regression was also used in testing the relationship between the two.

Analysis

The results of the survey, gathered from both traditional and online data, showed that there was a total of 67 respondents. However, not all the respondents answered the survey completely which explains why different values of n were used in different tests.

One-Way ANOVA for the Goods and Services Offered

For this study, the group used one-way ANOVA to be able to understand the differences between the goods and services offered by different coffee shops. If the calculated test statistic is greater than the critical value, then the null hypotheses is rejected. The rejection of the null hypothesis means that the treatments are significantly different. On the other hand, if the computed test statistic is less than the critical value, then the null hypothesis is not rejected, being unable to reject the null hypothesis means that the treatment means do not have significant difference.

ANOVA: Single Factor

Source of Variation Between Groups SS 2.780487805 df 2 MS 1.390243902 F 2.084095064 P-value 0.128900235 F crit 3.071779405

Within Groups

80.04878049

120

0.667073171

Total

82.82926829

122

Figure 1: Coffee Based Drinks

Source of Variation

SS

df

MS

P-value

F crit

Between Groups

2.536585365

1.268292682

1.630946157

0.200052931

3.071779404

Within Groups

93.31707317

120

0.777642276

Total Figure 2: Pastries

95.85365853

122

Source of Variation

SS

df

MS

P-value

F crit

Between Groups

2.943089430

1.471544715

2.063854047

0.131446965

3.071779404

Within Groups

85.56097560

120

0.713008130

Total Figure 3: Sandwiches

88.50406504

122

Source of Variation

SS

df

MS

P-value

F crit

Between Groups

2.097560975

1.048780487

1.792911744

0.170905255

3.071779404

Within Groups

70.19512195

120

0.584959349

Total

72.29268292

122

Figure 4: Other Beverages

Source of Variation

SS

df

MS

P-value

F crit

Between Groups

4.894308943

2.447154471

2.636881296

0.075729914

3.071779404

Within Groups

111.3658536

120

0.928048780

Total Figure 5: Wi-Fi Source of Variation

116.2601626

122

SS

df

MS

P-value

F crit

Between Groups

1.235772357

0.617886178

0.687782805

0.504659855

3.071779404

Within Groups

107.8048780

120

0.898373983

Total

109.0406504

122

Figure 6: Customer Service Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit

Between Groups

1.479674796

0.739837398

0.857277437

0.426897737

3.071779404

Within Groups

103.5609756

120

0.863008130

Total Figure 7: Atmosphere Source of Variation

105.0406504

122

SS

df

MS

P-value

F crit

Between Groups

0.211382113

0.105691056

0.098709187

0.906079633

3.071779404

Within Groups

128.4878048

120

1.070731707

Total

128.6991869

122

Figure 8: Availability of Sheets Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit

Between Groups

1.804878048

0.902439024

1.164132144

0.315693722

3.071779404

Within Groups

93.02439024

120

0.775203252

Total Figure 9: Promotions Source of Variation

94.82926829

122

SS

df

MS

P-value

F crit

Between Groups

0.308943089

0.154471544

0.300157977

0.741255667

3.071779404

Within Groups

61.75609756

120

0.514634146

Total Figure 10: Pricing Source of Variation

62.06504065

122

SS

df

MS

P-value

F crit

Between Groups

1.772357723

0.886178861

2.088122605

0.128399502

3.071779404

Within Groups

50.92682926

120

0.424390243

Total

52.69918699

122

Figure 11: Overall Satisfaction

For the group to be able to identify if there is a difference between the different goods and services offered, the ANOVA method was used. The null hypothesis states that the goods and services offered in the coffee shops are the same whilst the alternative hypothesis states otherwise. With the use of a significance level of 0.05, the group was able to determine the critical value for each good and service. (See figures 1- 11). The critical value per good and service showed above will be utilized in determining if the null hypothesis will or will not be rejected. As observed in the figures above, the F statistic per good and service is less than the critical value. This means that the goods and services of each coffee shop; Seattles Best, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and Bos Coffee, do not differ significantly based on the ratings of their customers.

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Multiple Regression between Frequency of Visits and Overall Satisfaction

To be able to understand the relationship between the frequency of visits and overall satisfaction, the group used multiple regression through excel. Multiple regression analysis is a flexible method of data analysis that may be appropriate whenever a quantitative variable (the dependent or criterion variable) is to be examined in relationship to any other factors (expressed as independent or predictor variables). Relationships may be nonlinear, independent variables may be quantitative or qualitative, and one can examine the effects of a single variable or multiple variables with or without the effects of other variables taken into account (qtd. Cohen, Cohen, West, & Aiken, 2003). We will be using the data below to formulate the Multiple Regression Model.

Frequency of visits (Y)

Overall Satisfaction for Seattles Best (X1)

Overall Satisfaction for Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (X2)

Overall Satisfaction for Bos Coffee (X3)

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4 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 3 3 4

4 4 4 3 4 3 2 3 3 4 3 2 4 4 3 4 5 5 3 4 4 3 2 3 4 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 5 3 4

3 4 4 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 2 4 4 3 4 3 4 3 3 4 3 5 3 4 3 4 3 3 3 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 5 3 4

3 4 4 3 3 3 2 3 3 4 3 2 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 4 4 1 3 4 3 4 4 3 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 3 3 4 4 5 3 4

Figure 12: Raw Data for Frequency of Visits and Overall Satisfaction

From the 44 respondents who answered the questions completely, here is the data for the Overall Satisfaction per coffee shop.
Regression Statistics

Multiple R

0.325658030

12

R Square

0.106053152

Adjusted R Square

0.039007139

Standard Error

0.908223065

Observations

44

Figure 11: Regression Summary for Frequency of Visits and Overall Satisfaction

As seen on the table above, beside the Multiple r, or the Simple Correlation Coefficient between the frequency of visits and the overall satisfaction of the customers, the statistic of
0.325658030 means that there is a weaker correlation because the statistic is not near 1 but

that doesnt mean that Multiple r is negative. Multiple r simply measures the strength of the linear relationship between X and Y. Because we have a positive Multiple r, the slope of the regression is positive and near to 0 ;therefore, X and Y have a little correlation. Thus, the Frequency of Visits (Y) have little linear relationship with the Overall Satisfaction for Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Bos Coffee, and Seattles Best (X). The coefficient determination, or R squared, measures the accuracy of the Multiple Regression Model. The nearer R squared is to 1, the greater the accuracy of the regression model in the predicting value of y. The results show that R Squared = 0.106053152 or is 10.61% accurate, meaning there is less accuracy of the regression model in predicting the value of the overall satisfaction for the different coffee shops. Linear Regression for Frequency of Visits and Year Level

Year Level 2

Frequency of Visit

Year Level

Frequency of Visit

Year Level

Frequency of Visit

13

14

Figure 11: Raw Data for Frequency of Visits and Year Level

The linear regression table for the year level of students is shown below :

Regression Multiple R R Square Adjusted R Square Standard Error Observations

Statistics 0.0277641775187435 0.0007708495532923 -0.0184450956476059 0.914077548899446 54

Figure 11: Regression Summary for Frequency of Visits and Year Level

A correlation is seen between the year level of the students and the number of times they visit a coffee shop, although it is very weak or non-existent because the multiple R value, or the simple correlation coefficient between the year level of students and their frequency of visits, is far from 1 or -1. The multiple R value simply measures the relationship between variables X and Y and how correlated their relationship is. Since the value of multiple R in this table is far from 1, it means that there is little or no relation between the students year level and the number of times they visit the different coffee shops. The coefficient of determination, or R square, in this table, is shown to be very small. The R square value measures how precise the regression model is to predict the variable Y. In this case, since the R square value is very far from 1, it means that the regression model is not accurate enough to predict a students number of visits to the different coffee shops.

With this data, it can be said that there is very little or no relation between the year level of a student and the frequency of visits to the different coffeeshops.

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Customer Preferences

The survey concludes with a series of fixed (Yes or No) and narrative response questions that focus more on the availability of goods and services that customers like, and the possible additions that customers feel are necessary to the coffee shop.

The first question asks customers if their preferred coffee shop offers a specific product or service, one that is diverse from the typical coffee shop, answerable by yes or no. 14 respondents, out of 26 (since not every respondent answer the particular question), stated that yes, the coffee shop they frequent has a specific product or service which attracts them to going there. In terms of services, the number one reason for customer attraction would have to be the free wi-fi followed closely by the tea choices offered and then the products and coffee based drinks. The rest of the 12 respondents stated that no, the coffee shop does not offer the services that they like.

The succeeding question asks the customer if coffee shops should add new items new items for their menu. 23 of the respondents answered with yes, coffee shops should add new items in their menu preferably focusing on the category of pastries as stated by 5 respondents, followed by pasta, more variants of coffee-based drinks, juices, milk tea, and more meals. On the other hand, 48 of the respondents answered with no. In their opinion, coffee shops should not add new items in their menu.

The last fixed question basically asks the customer if any additional goods or services should be offered in a coffee shop. A rather small portion of respondents, specifically 20 customers, stated that there should be new goods and services added in these coffee shops like full meals and free unlimited wi-fi access. Furthermore, these customers believe that coffee shops should add a books section or a vip/quiet room, laptop locks, chocolate based drinks, 24-hour service, diet-friendly foods, and etc. Majority of the customers or the remaining 43 customers, however, believe that no additional goods or services are necessary for the coffee shops.

Conclusions / Recommendations:

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The results of the study were the following: 1. There is no significant difference between the means of the rating of the customers for each criterion under goods and services. This simply means that the coffee shops namely Seattles Best, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and Bos Coffee are not different from each other in terms of their goods and services offered based from a sample of 41 respondents. 2. There is a weak or no relationship between the frequency of visits of customers and their overall satisfaction for each coffee shop. This implies that it is not always the case that if the frequency of visits is high, the overall satisfaction is also high. 3. There is a weak or no relationship between the frequency of visits of customers and their year level. This means that the frequency of visits and the year level of customers is independent from each other.

The group recommends that future researchers use a more systematic way of sampling rather than the use of convenience sampling. Furthermore, the group suggests future researchers to make their survey brief and concise so as to keep the respondents interested and to decrease the possibility of unnecessary information.

As for the groups recommendation for the three coffee shops, the study above shows that there is no difference between the goods and services offered by the aforementioned shops. Therefore, there is an opportunity for either one of these shops to use this equal standing to their advantage and either improve or add to their goods and services to attract more customers and to differ significantly from their competitors.

Works Cited
Websites:
"About Us." Seattle's Best Coffee Philippines. Seattle's Best Coffee. Web. 09 Aug. 2011. <http://

seattlesbestcoffee.tripod.com/id2.html>.

"Bo's Coffee." Bo's Coffee. Bo's Coffee, n.d. Web. 6 Jul 2011. <http://www.boscoffee.com/>.

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"Coffee." New World Encyclopedia. New World Encyclopedia, 28 Aug 2008. Web. 6 Jul 2011. <http:// www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Coffee>.

Coffee Bean. 2010. 11 October 2011 <http://coffeebean.com.ph/bakedfresh>.

Experiment-Resource.com. sampling.html>.

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October

2011

<http://www.experiment-resources.com/convenience-

Nica, M. Nica's Day Out. 7 November 2010. 11 October 2011 <http://nicamandigma.com/six-things-people-do-incoffee-shops>.

"Our History." Seattle's Best Coffee. Seattle's Best Coffee. Web. 09 Aug. 2011. <http://www.seattlesbest.com/ourhistory.aspx>

Pujalte, Jose S. Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. 5 March 2011. 9 October 2011 <http://www.mb.com.ph/node/ 307691/addicted-caffeine>.

"Quality." The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, n.d. Web. 9 Oct 2011. <http:// www.coffeebean.com.ph/quality>.

Seattle's Best. 11 October 2011 <http://www.seattlesbest.com.ph/ourmenu_pastries.html>. Shaffer, Jess. The Observer. 11 August 2009. 11 October 2011 <http://www.ndsmcobserver.com/scene/coffeeboosts-students-through-college-1.259181#.To_w85u1D24>.

Journals and Scholarly books:

Anderson, E.W. et.al.(1994). Customer satisfaction, market share, and profitability? Findings from Sweden. Journal of Marketing. 58(3). 5366.

Fishbein, M. and Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, Reading, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An introduction to theory and research. MA. Addison-Wesley.

Parasuraman, A. et.al.(1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing.64. 1240.

Yu, S.-H. (2007). An empirical investigation on the economic consequences of customer satisfaction. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence. 18(5). 555569.

Zeithaml, V.A. (2000). Service quality, profitability, and the economic worth of customers: What we know and what we need to learn. Journal of Academy of Marketing Science. 28(1). 6785.

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