An approach to assess customer perception of satisfaction in self-service restaurants.

Description

/ 6 An approach to assess customer perception of satisfaction in self-service restaurants. Field of invention

[001] This descriptive report of a Patent of Invention refers to Quality Engineering, focusing on Quality System Management. This presented method uses a survey-type technical procedure for data collection, with the purpose of analyzing consumer satisfaction in relation to their perception of the quality of services provided by self-service restaurants. Fundamentals of the invention STATE OF THE ART

[002] State of the art: Patent document IN 202111059121 - APPLICATION OF MARKETING STRATEGIES AND TOOLS IN RESTAURANTS, describes a method focused on the quality of fast food restaurant services, according to consumer perception, about the services provided, their popularity and the growth trends of this market in India.

[003] There are inventions focused on work quality and customer satisfaction in general, or related to fast food restaurant services in specific regions. On the other hand, there is still nothing related to self-service restaurant services, especially something related to the quality perceived by the consumer of this category of restaurants. Furthermore, no inventions were found that align the purchasing behavior of products and the use of self-service restaurant services with quality management practices. The advantage of using perceived quality and customer satisfaction is the ease of use and reduced cost to improve the customer experience and design an innovative solution integrated with the expectations generated, regardless of the brand or region. Petition 870250080008, dated 09 / 08 / 2025, p. 4 / 10 / 6 Brief description of the drawings

[004] To gain an understanding of the process for evaluating consumer perception of self-service restaurant service, figures have been included in the appendix, described as follows: Figure 1 presents the flowchart detailing the process of evaluating consumer perception of the services provided by self-service restaurants. Figure 2 presents the parameters used for the applied statistical analyses and tests. Description of the invention

[005] The food service industry has a great influence on the economy, with the restaurant sector standing out with the largest contributions, mainly due to the sector's commitment to promoting customer satisfaction and brand loyalty (Serpa et al., 2022). In this context, the quality of services provided in self-service restaurants is a key factor for success, as it directly affects the customer experience and shapes their perception of the factors involved in the service offered (Uslu; Eren, 2020). Thus, considering that consumers experience constant changes in purchasing behavior over time, their needs may also change, leading to the analysis of qualitative and subjective parameters.Knowing this, it is essential to understand the customer's real preferences and how they interact with services as they are being made available (Saraswati, 2022). This creates a need to adopt strategies that benefit the work environment through the continuous improvement of services offered, both to maintain the organization's competitive advantage in the market and to ensure that the customer is highly satisfied and becomes loyal to the brand (Altuntas; Kansu, 2020). Therefore, the importance of integrating quality management with strategic planning is highlighted, in order to keep up with changes and transform them into a cohesive whole. Petition 870250080008, dated 08 / 09 / 2025, page 5 / 10 / 6 opportunity for organizational growth, in order to add value to its offering and improve its performance through innovative initiatives (Nadikattu, 2020).

[006] In this sense, the invention aims to analyze the attributes of services and information related to the perspective of consumers of self-service restaurants, evaluating their perception and the level to which the parameters are in agreement with the determining aspects of satisfaction in services, which refer to the different dimensions of quality.

[007] The technical procedure of the invention is classified as a survey, which in turn uses questionnaires as an instrument for collecting information, and this survey is conducted according to the parameters stipulated by the study to evaluate a representative sample (Miguel, 2018). The questionnaire is divided into three main parts. The initial part of the questionnaire focuses on identifying the profile of the respondents, through the following information: age, gender, city of residence, level of education, income, and food preferences. The second stage aims at the operational efficiency of the service provided by the self-service restaurant sector. The third part consists of evaluating various aspects related to the consumer's perception of their last experience with the service offered by the self-service restaurant.This includes everything from the quality of the facilities and equipment in the environment to the behavior and commitment of employees to their customers.

[008] Through the questionnaire it is possible to collect data, and then perform statistical analyses to extract and examine the relevant information. The sampling plan can be defined as non-probabilistic by convenience, given that the selection of participants was based on their availability (Andrade, 2021).

[009] In order to describe the sociodemographic data of the sample and population studied, descriptive analysis can be used to provide an overview of the characteristics of the data set, understand patterns, trends, and distribution. As the data are classified as discrete, it becomes necessary to verify whether they derive from a normal distribution, thus the Shapiro-Wilk test is performed to analyze distributions and detect any deviations from normality at a significance level of 0.05 (Montgomery, 2017), in addition to the α coefficient of Petition 870250080008, dated 08 / 09 / 2025, page 6 / 10 / 6 Cronbach's test, used as a measurement tool to assess the reliability of information (Cronbach, 1951).

[0010] Multiple Linear Regression was used to test and identify the statistical model. In order to ensure the relevance of the predictor variables, a significance level of 5% was adopted for the calculation of the p-value, following the predefined parameters, in order to obtain a p-value that is below the stipulated significance level. After the refinement and selection of the most relevant variables, the precision and robustness of the results were ensured (Montgomery, 2017), thus investigating whether there is a high correlation between the independent variables and the possibility of multicollinearity. According to Chatterjee and Hadi (2015), if the tolerance value is greater than 0.1 or if the variance inflation factor (VIF) is less than 10, it should be considered that there is no multicollinearity in the variables studied. Examples of embodiments of the invention

[0011] In this context of food services, it is important to emphasize that the trend in the attribution behavior of consumers of self-service restaurants and the identification of their preferences can help in creating quality policies that are more aligned with the expectations of their target audience, whether in the planning or execution of strategic actions. Furthermore, it provides insights into food safety regarding food handling, production efficiency, reduction of food waste (whether due to spoiled products, expired products, overproduction, waste in preparation, or leftover food on plates), as well as the adaptation of the menu and services offered to real demands.

[0012] This invention seeks to study the importance of understanding customer perception, focusing on improving the quality of products and services in pursuit of better production and consumption standards, allowing adjustments in operations to ensure a more sustainable service with greater customer acceptance. In this context, it contributes to a continuous improvement cycle, where the collected data is used to optimize restaurant processes in promoting actions aimed at Petition 870250080008, dated 08 / 09 / 2025, page 7 / 10 5 / 6 for the economic development of the organization through more agile processes and effective actions.

[0013] Therefore, this method can be applied in any location, as long as it is in the self-service restaurant sector, and Google Forms can be used to facilitate data collection, which can be done with online or printed questionnaires delivered to consumers. Thus, the simplicity of using the method and its ability to quickly obtain customer perceptions is evident.

[0014] References

[0015] ALTUNTAS, S; KANSU, S. An innovative and integrated approach based on SERVQUAL, QFD and FMEA for service quality improvement: A case study. Kybernetes, vol. 49, n. 10, p. 2419-2453, 2020.

[0016] ANDRADE, C. The inconvenient truth about convenience and purposive samples. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, vol. 43, no. 1, p. 86-88, 2021.

[0017] CHATTERJEE, S. HADI, AS Regression analysis by example. John Wiley & Sons, 2015.

[0018] CRONBACH, LJ Alpha coherent and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, v. 16, n. 3, p. 297-334, 1951.

[0019] MIGUEL, PAC Research Methodology in Production Engineering and Operations Management. (3rd edition), Rio de Janeiro: Elsevier, 2018.

[0020] MONTGOMERY, DC Design and analysis of experiments. John Wiley & Sons, 2017.

[0021] NADIKATTU, RR Effective innovation management in strategic planning. International Journal of Engineering, Science And. V. 9, n. 5, p. 106-116, 2020. Petition 870250080008, dated 09 / 08 / 2025, p. 8 / 10 / 6

[0022] SARASWATI, E. Market Orientation, Service Quality in Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty: A Study on Sharia Banking in Indonesia. Golden Ratio of Marketing and Applied Psychology of Business, v. 2, n. 1, p. 26-41, 2022.

[0023] SERPA, N. P.; SILVA, D. J. C. D.; WEGNER, R. D. S.; STERTZ, E. D. S.; TEIXEIRA, C. S.; LOPES, L. F. D. Quality and sustainability in the production process: A study of bakeries using an integrated multi-criteria method based on fuzzy AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS. Environmental Quality Management, v. 32, n. 3, p. 251-262, 2023.

[0024] USLU, A.; EREN, R. Critical review of service quality scales with a focus on customer satisfaction and loyalty in restaurants. Deturope-the Central European Journal of Regional Development and Tourism, v. 12, n. 1, p. 64-84, 2020. Petição 870250080008, de 08 / 09 / 2025, pág. 9 / 10

Claims

CLAIMS 1. “APPROACH TO EVALUATING CUSTOMER PERCEPTION REGARDING SATISFACTION WITH SELF-SERVICE RESTAURANT SERVICES” This was developed with the aim of analyzing consumer perception regarding the purchase and consumption of products and services from self-service restaurants, in addition to serving the area of ​​Quality Engineering.

2. “APPROACH TO EVALUATING CUSTOMER PERCEPTION REGARDING SATISFACTION WITH SELF-SERVICE RESTAURANT SERVICES”, according to claim number 1, characterized by the invention's objective and the Quality Engineering area, corresponds to a model focused on the consumer of a Self-service Restaurant, with an emphasis on evaluating their behavior and the impact generated both on society and on the food sector.

3. “APPROACH TO EVALUATING CUSTOMER PERCEPTION REGARDING SATISFACTION WITH SELF-SERVICE RESTAURANT SERVICES”, according to claims 1 and 2, characterized by the description of the invention model, in which, to fulfill this purpose, it is necessary to use the survey procedure as a technique to collect data and perform data analysis. Petition 870250013408, dated 02 / 19 / 2025, p. 12 / 15

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