Clinical Support Services Dining Services Satisfaction Survey Fall 2013 Institutional Research November 2013 Final Report
Prepared by Institutional Research MD Anderson Cancer Center
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Clinical Support Services Dining Services Satisfaction Survey Submitted by: Marilyn Greer, Ph.D. Jaime Garcia, M.A. Glenda Redworth, M.S. Institutional Research November 2013 Final Report 1
Acknowledgements Many thanks to Ms. Gayle Harper, Director, Clinical Support Services, and Ms. Alanna A. Terrell, Project Consultant, Clinical Support Services for their help with the subject area for the survey questions. Many thanks to Daniel Kowalczyk, the Dining Services Supervisor, for coordinating this effort throughout the twelve services areas around the sprawling MD Anderson campus. 2
Abstract The Dining Services Survey is the first of quarterly assessments completed for the purpose of assessment of the entire customer base of employees (faculty and staff), patients, students and visitors. Prior surveys were conducted by the MD Anderson vendor, ARAMark. Service areas with less than ten respondents were not analyzed (1 MC Convenience Store, Café 24/7, Clark Coffee, and SCB III Coffee).. The Institutional Research Department was asked by Dining Services management to assist with deployment and collection of the paper dining services satisfaction survey for twelve of the service from September 23, through October 4, 2013. Customers were directed to either a kiosk, or given a survey by the cashier to complete. The surveys were deposited in a locked box that only IR had access. IR collected the surveys, which were color-coded and pre-filled by location, after one week in the service area. Twelve Dining Services gift certificates of $15 were used as an incentive to increase the survey response rate. The overall response rate was 40.7% (661 responses). The survey was implemented to determine the rating of customer satisfaction in the areas of food and beverage selection, timeliness of service, temperature of food, food quality, employee friendliness, and overall satisfaction with dining experience. There were thirteen questions that addressed these service issues. Areas with seven or more areas with a satisfaction rating of at or above 75% combined agreement/satisfaction were considered above average and included: Cool Beans Bakery and Café (7 areas), Lantern Café (13 areas), and Light Bytes Coffee (13 areas). Areas with five or more areas with combined satisfaction of less than 50% and/or combined dissatisfaction of at or above 20% were considered areas which should be reviewed for improvement: SCRB II (five areas below 50% combined satisfaction and seven areas with dissatisfaction at or above 20%), and The Park Coffee (three areas below 50% combined satisfaction and eight areas with dissatisfaction at or above 20%). Customer demographics such as usual time and frequency of use of the food service area, and customer classification were also gauged in the survey. Respondents could select multiple categories as to the time of day they usually purchased food from the particular service area they were evaluating. Service areas identified primarily as morning service areas (6:00 9:00 AM) included: Light Bytes (72.8%), and Cool Beans Bakery and Café (60.3%). Areas identified as primarily lunchtime (after 11:00 AM 1:00 PM) included 1 MC Café (75.9%), and Latern Café (74.9%). The remaining service areas were split between morning and lunch service: SCRB II (64.3% morning and 78.6% lunchtime), Café Anderson (27.5% morning, 28.8% mid-morning (after 9:00 AM 11:00 AM) and 57.5% lunchtime, and The Park Coffee (50.0% morning, 35.7% mid-morning (after 9:00 AM 11:00 AM) and 28.6% lunchtime. In addition, most respondents ate between one to five times per week at the service area they rated. Employees consisted of at or over 66% of the following service areas: 1MC Café (93.2%), Cool Beans Bakery and Café (86.0%), Lantern Café (85.0%), Light Bytes (92.1%), and The Park Coffee (90.9%). Patients consisted of over 20% of the customers for Café Anderson (32.4%) and Waterfall Café (21.1%). Questions 17 and 18 were open-ended questions used to identify areas where customer service improvement (question 17) or expanding of menu items (question 18) could be addressed by respondents. Many comments in the customer satisfaction area addressed expanding menu options. Expansion of healthy food options (salads and fruit), and providing food from franchises such as Subway and Chick-Fil-A were mentioned. Customer satisfaction themes frequently noted included: length of time in lines during peak hours, friendliness of staff, general sanitation, and cost of menu items. In comparison to the results from spring 2013, the overall ratings for the twelve common questions were higher among the fall 2012 respondents (Appendix C). Regarding overall food 3
variety, respondents in spring 2013 rated this item 74.1% very good/good compared to 80.5% among fall respondents. Similarly, overall food quality was rated at 79.6% very good/good in spring and 85.6% in fall, while 82.4% of fall 2013 respondents were very satisfied/satisfied with the overall satisfaction with dining experience compared to 76.9% among spring 2013 respondents. The Dining Service Survey had less than 70% response rate overall (40.7%). There were two locations that had response rates of over 70%, Lantern Café (93.5%), and Light Bytes Café (92.5%). The respondents to this survey may or may not represent the opinion of employees within Dining Services Administration. Part of the lowered response rate may be an effect of the number of surveys distributed by location which could be adjusted for future quarterly survey deployments. Dining Services can use the results of this survey to work with individual service areas to plan goals for improvement using the specific feedback for each area. Focus groups within each service area with customers should be an option to help clarify issues identified in the survey. Customer feedback via announcements should be addressed specific to each location identifying where areas of improvement will be made as a result of the survey. Quarterly dining services satisfaction surveys should be continued to identify areas for service and quality improvement. Attachments: Exhibit A: Survey Instrument Exhibit B: Frequency Tables Exhibit C: Frequency Charts Exhibit D: Comments Exhibit E: Reference Books and Manuals 4