Quality of provided gastronomic services – mystery shopping results

Hvizdová Eva
Ph.D., Associate Professor (Economics), Vice-Rector for Studies College of International Business ISM Slovakia in Prešov, Prešov, Slovakia, E-mail:hvizdova@ismo.sk, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8726-4388

Cite this article:

Hvizdová E. (2025) Quality of provided gastronomic services – mystery shopping results. Ed.: V.V. Kovalenko (ed.-in-ch.) and others [Jakist nadannja gastronomichnyh poslug – rezultaty tajemnyh zakupivel.: V.V. Kovalenko (gol. red.)], Scientific Bulletin of the Odesa National Economic University (ISSN 2313-4569), Odesa National Economics University, Odesa, No. 1 (326), pp.69-77.

Abstract

The study is devoted to the analysis of service quality in the region of Eastern Slovakia, thereby filling a certain gap. So far, there have been only nationwide research and surveys in the mentioned area. The aim of the study is to obtain knowledge and empirical data on the quality of services in Eastern Slovakia. The author achieves this goal by analyzing the quality of services in selected Slovak cities. The method is data collection, analysis and generalization. The author uses the Mystery Shopping method. To measure the effectiveness of services, the authors used the following models: SERVQUAL, DINESERV and Kano. By evaluating various criteria—staff professionalism, service speed, hygiene, and overall atmosphere—this approach provides an objective assessment of the customer experience. The findings help businesses identify strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to refine their service strategies, enhance customer satisfaction, and maintain competitiveness in the evolving gastronomic sector. The basic research question of the paper can be formulated as follows: To what extent do the above factors affect customer satisfaction. The results show that some business entities provided very high-quality services, while shortcomings were found elsewhere. Stable customers were acquired by those establishments whose services were of high quality. The presented study also contains recommendations. These consist of analyzing customer feedback, training staff, investing in technology, and also accepting trends.

Keywords

Mystery Shopping method, gastronomic services, Eastern Slovakia, quality factors.

JEL classification:M300;DOIhttps://doi.org/10.32680/2409-9260-2025-1-326-69-77

UD classification:338.48:640.4]:005.412(06)

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