Exploring the Hygienic Practices among Kitchen Staff in the Training College of Education: The Case of Hohoe

Hygienic practices of food handlers have become major issues in developed and developing countries including Ghana. Providing safe and hygienic food for students in the boarding schools as a means to preventing food-borne diseases is paramount to every educational institution. Therefore, it has become necessary to ensure kitchen staff in boarding institutions adheres to hygienic practices to protect public health. This study explored the hygienic practices and sanitary conditions of kitchen staff in 2 Training Colleges of Education in Hohoe. Structured questionnaire was used to collect empirical data from 65 respondents working as kitchen staff in 2 Training Colleges of Education. Data collected was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 16 and Excel and the results presented in frequency counts, percentages, and graphs. The study revealed that the kitchen staff of the Training colleges generally adhered to good food hygienic practices as regards good hand hygiene 94%, store food in non-food storage rooms 97%, use of protective clothing 78%, sanitizing kitchen tools 82% and medical examination 75%. There is an evidence of significance difference (p < 0.05) establishing the relationship between respondents’ status of medical examination and food hygiene and safety courses attended. The study recommends that refresher courses on food safety and hygiene practices should be organized for kitchen staff to provide them with the current issues on food safety and good food hygiene practices. Keywords: Hygienic practices Food safety, Sanitary conditions, Kitchen staff, Training Colleg

Investigating Customer Feedback Channels in the Hotel Industry: the Case of Ho – Ghana

Knowing what delight customers and satisfying them is highly critical for success in today’s competitive business environment. In order to satisfy customers and to meet their expectations, hotels must be able to understand customers’ needs and wants. Customer feedback provides invaluable information for organizations to re-orient their products and services. This study explores customer feedback channels that are used by hotels in Ho, Ghana and examines customers’ perceptions on the effectiveness of the feedback channels. Also, customers’ preferred channels were examined. Structured questionnaires were administered to 300 hotel guests at random. Out of the 300 questionnaires distributed, 171 were completed and used in the final analyses. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22. The results revealed that suggestion box was mostly used by the hotels and guests perceived this channel as most effective among all other feedback channels. Also, guests preferred to provide feedback on one-on-one contact. The study concludes that developing effective customer feedback channels would motivate gueststo tell the hotel management about their satisfaction or dissatisfaction on the hotel services and products. Guest contact staff should be well trained in handling customer feedback and to possess good communication skills

Assessing the Impact of Loyalty Program on Consumer Purchasing Behavior in Fine-Dining Restaurant

This study explores the influence of loyalty program on customer purchasing behavior in fine-dining restaurant. It examines the factors that motivate customers to enroll on the program and loyalty rewards customers’ prefer. Questionnaires were administered to 172 guests to solicit views on how loyalty programs impact on their purchasing behavior. The respondents were selected at random upon request to answer the questionnaires. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16. The findings revealed that members of the loyalty programs showed positive attitude towards patronizing other restaurant products thereby increasing sales margin of the restaurants. Majority of the customers expressed the desire for immediate rewards such as discount. Food quality emerged as the major motivational factor to enroll on loyalty programs followed by environment and brand. The study concludes that, loyalty programs that are designed to match the target groups influence consumer-purchasing decision. The implication is that restaurant managers should continue to seek customers’ views on loyalty rewards as customers’ expectations change overtime. Furthermore, food quality should not be overlooked as customers begin to consider it as a motivational factor to enroll on loyalty programs in fine-dining restaurants. Keywords: Loyalty programs, Consumer Behavior, Fine-Dining Restauran