The Relationship between Restaurant Ambience and Customers' Satisfaction in Shah Alam Arabic Restaurants, Selangor

Abstract

Restaurant ambience plays an important role in establishing a restaurant image, and to attract customers to dine. Exterior and interior design that is eye-catching will pull the customer to visit the restaurants. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between restaurant ambience and customer satisfaction in the Arabic restaurants. This study also seeks to determine which restaurant ambience elements highly influence customer satisfaction. The elements of spatial layout, interior design, colour and music were measured. Quantitative data were collected from 411 respondents in Shah Alam, Selangor. It was found that colour is the element that is significantly and mostly influences customers‟ satisfaction. More detailed findings and implications are also discussed.

Full text

International Journal of Administration and Governance, 1(4) Special 2015, Pages: 1-8
IWNEST PUBLISHER
International Journal of Administration and
Governance
(ISSN 2077-4486)
Journal home page: http://www.iwnest.com/AACE/
Corresponding Author: Muhamad Saufiyudin Omar, Politeknik Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin, Department of Tourism &
Hospitality, Pauh Putra, 02600 Arau, Perlis, Malaysia.
Tel: +6012 266 0944. E-mail: saufiyudin@yahoo.com
The Relationship between Restaurant Ambience and Customers’ Satisfaction in
Shah Alam Arabic Restaurants, Selangor
1Muhamad Saufiyudin Omar, 2Hashim Fadzil Ariffin, 3Rozila Ahmad
1Politeknik Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin, Department of Tourism & Hospitality, Pauh Putra, 02600 Arau, Perlis Indra Kayangan, Malaysia.
2Universiti Teknologi MARA, Faculty of Hotel & Tourism Management, Kampus Puncak Alam, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor
Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
3Universiti Utara Malaysia, School of Tourism, Hospitality and Environmental Management, UUM College of Law, Government and
International Studies, 06010 UUM Sintok, Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia
A RT I C LE I NF O
A B ST R AC T
Article history:
Received 23 Feb 2015
Accepted 6 March 2015
Available online 28 March 2015
Keywords:
Arabic restaurants
Customers’ satisfaction
Restaurant ambience
Restaurant ambience plays an important role in establishing a restaurant image, and to
attract customers to dine. Exterior and interior design that is eye-catching will pull the
customer to visit the restaurants. The purpose of this study is to examine the
relationship between restaurant ambience and customer satisfaction in the Arabic
restaurants. This study also seeks to determine which restaurant ambience elements
highly influence customer satisfaction. The elements of spatial layout, interior design,
colour and music were measured. Quantitative data were collected from 411
respondents in Shah Alam, Selangor. It was found that colour is the element that is
significantly and mostly influences customers‟ satisfaction. More detailed findings and
implications are also discussed.
© 2015 IWNEST Publisher All rights reserved.
To Cite This Article: Muhamad Saufiyudin Omar, Hashim Fadzil Ariffin, Rozila Ahmad, The Relationship between Restaurant Ambience
and Customers‟ Satisfaction in Shah Alam Arabic Restaurants, Selangor. Int. J. Adm. Gov., 1(4), 1-8, 2015
INTRODUCTION
For decades, scholars have expressed interest in the role of the physical environment, or “ambience” on
customer perceptions of quality and subsequent responses [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. To gain a competitive advantage in
today‟s market, restaurants have attempted to offer the best value of meals in a favourable ambience [6]. A
restaurant that provides a pleasing ambience is more likely to attract customers in spending more time and
money. On the other hand, ignoring the significance of a pleasing ambience will result in lower repeat-purchase
intentions and a decline in customer confidence and patronage [7]. According to Rande [8] the ambience of the
restaurant is made up of everything that makes an impression on the people such as design of the building,
interior, colour scheme, texture of the walls and décor or decoration. The concept in casual dining restaurants is
to create an ambience that will make the customers relax, and enjoy themselves. This concept partly aims at
pleasing guests enough to make them want to return to the establishment. According to Horeco [9] ambience is a
simple decoration that can give restaurants a competitive edge. The menu should match with your restaurant‟s
concept or theme, ambience, your guest‟s expectations and kitchen‟s capacity to pull it all off [10]. Thus, it is
worth to critically understand and create the restaurant ambience appropriately to enhance the restaurant image
and revenue. In determining the concept, Wood and Munoz [11] emphasized that greater attention is required
for the selection of a restaurant's decor, ambience and culture artefacts. Additionally, Guinness [12] supported
elements such as restaurant design, employees, cultural artefacts, food, drink, and entertainment music are
needed in order to be successful in restaurant businesses.
Currently, Arabic restaurant is one of the most famous restaurants in Malaysia. Since the tragedy of 11th
September 2001 in America the Arab tourists visit Malaysia frequently especially during the summer. The
tragedy had changed the global tourism scenario greatly including in Malaysia and other Islamic countries.
According to Salleh, Redzuan, Abu, Mohd and Mohd [13] tourists especially from the Muslim countries are
becoming more careful and selective in choosing their destinations for holiday. The statistic showed that the
arrival of Middle East tourists to the United States had decreased sharply after the incident. In 2000, about
249,260 Middle East tourists visited the States but in 2002 and 2005, the numbers had decreased tremendously

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International Journal of Administration and Governance, 1(4) Special 2015, Pages: 1-8
to 126,613 and 144,131, respectively. Similarly, the number of tourists‟ arrival at the United Kingdom, during
the same period, declined from 429,000 to 360,000 and 380,000, respectively [14]. The increasing number of
tourists from the Middle East indirectly impacted the increasing number of Arabic restaurants in Malaysia. The
Statistic of tourists‟ arrival in 2010 shows that the number of tourists from Saudi Arabia, UAE and Iran that visit
Malaysia is 86,771, 25,645 and 116,252 respectively. Meanwhile in 2011, the number showed an increase of
about 15.6% tourist visit from Saudi Arabia; 87,693, UAE; 24,212 and Iran; 139,617 (Tourism Malaysia, 2012).
United Federation of Travel Agents‟s Association (2012) stated that Malaysia recorded an overall growth of
1.2% tourist arrivals with 9,438,592 tourists for the first five months of 2012 as compared to 9,323,827 for the
same period last year [14]. The data also showed the increasing number of tourists from Saudi Arabia of about
50.7%. The former Minister of Tourism Malaysia, Dato‟ Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen said in Malaysia Tourism
Transformation Plan 2020, Malaysia targets to achieve 36 million tourists and 168 billion in revenues by 2020
[13].
The increasing number of tourists arrival from the Middle East and the increasing number of Arabic
restaurants in Malaysia perhaps has caused the Arabic restaurants becomes popular and well accepted by the
Malaysian citizens. To sustain this theme restaurant and enhance the revenue, investigating the attributes that
contribute to the actual concept of these restaurants is worth to be carried out. Although there are numerous
studies regarding the Arab tourists and their behaviours, very few of the existing studies focus on the Arabic
restaurants ambience. Hence, this study is very important to figure out what are the factors that satisfy customers
in the Arabic restaurants ambience. In order to study customers‟ satisfaction with Arabic restaurant ambience
elements, several objectives are developed as a guidance for this research, and these are: (i) to examine the
relationship between spatial layout and customers‟ satisfaction in Arabic restaurants, (ii) to examine the
relationship between interior design and customers‟ satisfaction in Arabic restaurants, (iii) to examine the
relationship between colour and customers‟ satisfaction in Arabic restaurants, (iv) to examine the relationship
between music and customers‟ satisfaction in Arabic restaurants and (v) to determine which attribute is the best
predictor that influences customers‟ satisfaction in Arabic restaurants.
Literature review:
Customer satisfaction:
Zeithaml & Bitner [15] define satisfaction as a judgment that a product or service feature and provides a
pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfilment. Pizam and Ellis [16] define customers‟ satisfaction as the
feeling of well-being and pleasure that results from obtaining what one hopes for and expects from an appealing
product and/or service. Choi and Chu [17] consider satisfaction as an evaluation by customers that the food or
service they have received is at least as good as it is supposed to be. Customers‟ satisfaction is defined as a post-
purchase evaluative judgement concerning the purchase decision [18]. Oliver [19] also considered customers‟
satisfaction as “the consumer fulfilment response, the degree to which the level of fulfilment is pleasant or
unpleasant”, suggesting that satisfaction reflects the impact of the performance of the service provider on the
customer‟s feeling state. Although customers‟ satisfaction has been defined differently, the underlying fact is
that satisfaction is not a single entity, but comes in different states or levels.
Customer satisfaction is critically significant because it reflects subjective customer evaluations of the
attribute performance associated with the consumption experience [20]. The nature of the relationship between
service quality and customer satisfaction has received much attention in the services marketing literature [21,
22, 23, 24, 25]. As for customer‟s outcome behaviours, loyalty was measured using positive word of mouth,
revisit intention and willingness to recommend, which were taken from Mattila [26] and Evanschitzky et al.
[27]. Zeithaml [28] indicated that perceived value plays an important role in the consumer purchase decision
making, suggesting that behavioural intentions are consequences of perceived value. When customers perceive
high levels of value from consumption experiences, they tend to express positive behavioural intentions.
Customers who have previous experiences that they perceive as highly valuable in terms of efficient and
economical aspects will be more likely to have revisit intentions [29].
Restaurant ambience:
Ambience is the quality of the surrounding space that perceived by customers [30]. According to Kotler [2],
it is the conscious designing of space to produce specific emotional effects in buyers that enhance their purchase
probability. Ambience is made up of a set of elements, such as lighting, music, scent and colour. Research in
environmental psychology has suggested that ambience have a powerful impact on customer‟s attitudes,
emotions and behaviour. Mehrabian and Russell [31] first introduced a theoretical model to explain the impact
of environmental stimuli on individual behaviour. Ryu and Jang [32] found that ambience (e.g. music,
temperature and aroma) and employee appearance had the most important influence on customers‟ emotional
responses, which in turn affected customers‟ post-dining behavioural intentions.
The food alone may not bring people to a restaurant at the first time but the lure might be an eye-catching of
exterior design, a great media review, or a word of mouth recommendation will pull the customer to visit the

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International Journal of Administration and Governance, 1(4) Special 2015, Pages: 1-8
restaurants. The decor, ambience and service standards must all contribute to the customer‟s perception of the
dining experience [33]. Jang and Ha [34] discovered that interior design of Korean culture (hereafter, interior
design), traditional aspects of Korean foods, and fun and unique layout and facilities aesthetics (hereafter, layout
and facilities aesthetics), was significantly related to customer satisfaction, whereas perceived value evoked by
the entertaining effect of Korean music (hereafter, Korean music) and the exotic mood of the restaurant
(hereafter, mood).
According to Zeithaml & Bitner, [15] the ambient conditions in a restaurants include the background
characteristics of the restaurant environment such as interior decoration, exterior appearance, room temperature,
lighting, music, noise and odour. Wakefield and Blodgett [3] point out that, customers may not return to a
restaurant if they are not satisfied with the ambient conditions. Ambient factors profoundly affect how people
feel, think and evaluate the ambience of a particular restaurant. Owing to the importance of ambient factors, the
section below focuses on each of them separately and briefly.
Restaurant ambience attributes:
One of the elements in restaurant ambience is spatial layout. Spatial layout refers to the way in which an
equipment, facility and furnishings are arranged, the size and shape of these items, and the spatial relationships
among them [15]. Meanwhile, functionality means the ability of the aforesaid items to facilitate the customers‟
enjoyment and comfort. For instance, an effective layout and functionality will provide for ease of entry and
exit, and will make ancillary areas such as restrooms more accessible [3]. According to Heung and Gu [35] a
restaurant with a good layout helps to avoid overcrowding, which in turn creates a positive impression among
restaurant patrons, and is therefore considered a key atmospheric element in enhancing the dining experience
[36].
The exterior of the restaurant provides the first impression to the customer. The exterior of the restaurant
will not only attract and invite guests to eat, but also influence their experience of the meal [8, 37]. To elaborate,
as patrons approach the restaurant, they will scrutinize its exterior in terms of location and parking area, which
determine security of the restaurant. Patrons are also concerned with the attractiveness and upkeep of the
exterior of the restaurant in terms colour of the building, windows, curtains, type of entrance and flowers [8, 37].
A sign on the exterior of the restaurant with burned-out lights and flaking paint or a run-down building may
cause the customer to think less of the entire operation [8].
Signs, symbols and artefacts are used to enhance a certain image or to direct customers to desired
destinations. Signs displayed on the interior and exterior of a restaurant serve as explicit signals that
communicate about the restaurant to guests [15]. Signs may be used as labels (e.g. name of a restaurant), for
directional purposes (entrances, exits), and to communicate the rules of behaviour (e.g. no smoking, children
must be accompanied by adults). Symbols and artefacts communicate less directly than signs, giving implicit
cues to patrons about a restaurant [15]. White tablecloths and subdued lighting, for example, convey symbolic
meaning of full service and relatively high prices. Zeithaml and Bitner [15] explain that signs, symbols and
artefacts are particularly important for communicating new service concepts and in forming first impressions.
According to Jordaan and Prinsloo [37] lighting can help to set the pace, tone and mood of the service
encounter. Customers tend to talk more softly when lights are dim. Yuksel and Yuksel [38] stated that people
are less self-conscious and less inhibited when lights are low, therefore, eat more in dimmer light (e.g. at night).
Bright light, typical of fast-food restaurants, are installed to influence customers to eat their meals quickly [37,
38]. Moreover, research indicates that there is the relationship between lighting level preferences and
individuals‟ emotional responses and approach-avoidance behaviours. Areni and Kim [39] identified the impact
of in-store lighting on various aspects of shopping behaviour (e.g., consumer behaviour, amount of time spent,
and total sales) in a retail store setting. Lighting can be one of the most powerful physical stimuli in restaurants,
particularly in upscale restaurants. While bright lighting at fast-food restaurants (e.g., McDonald‟s) may
symbolize quick service and relatively low prices, subdued and warm lighting may symbolically convey full
service and high prices.
The temperature of the restaurant affects customers physiologically [40]. If the temperature is too cold or
too hot in the restaurant, customers will feel uncomfortable. Their discomfort will be reflected through their
avoidance behaviour [15]. They will likely choose another restaurant for the next visit and may even leave the
current restaurant sooner than expected. Similarly, employees working under these conditions will become
irritable and not provide the level of customer service they should [40].
Decoration is one of the elements that are significant to the restaurant ambience. Once a patron has entered
the restaurant, the decoration of the interior of the restaurant is evaluated. Customers often judge the interior
décor in terms of colour schemes [37, 40]. Colours such as red, yellow and orange are classified as warm
colours while green, blue and violet are cool colours. Warm colours give customers the impression of a warm,
comfortable service environment [37, 40]. Cool colours tend to create a formal type of service environment. By
properly using colours, a restaurant can create almost any type of environment that suits its clientele. For
instance, to create an exciting environment for young customers, using some combination of the warm and

4 Muhamad Saufiyudin Omar et al, 2015
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bright colours would be best. However, to create the same exciting environment for adults would require the
warm colours to be of softer tones [40]. Bright colours tend to stimulate and arouse whereas warm and cool
colours seem to promote relaxation [41]. Other items that contribute to interior décor include the signs that are
posted, the furniture and equipment that are used, the level of lighting, as well as pictures and fixtures [3, 40].
Zeithaml and Bitner [15] reported that many studies have focused on the effects of music on customers.
Based on these studies, Zeithaml and Bitner [15] point out that customers tend to perceive they spend less time
in the restaurant when there is music than when there is no music. This is because slower music tempos at lower
volumes tend to make diners more leisurely than fast music. Diners also spend more time and money when the
music matches or “fits” with their musical tastes [15]. Rande [8] points out that different people have different
tastes in music. Thus, one must, therefore, be careful not to offend one group while trying to satisfy another with
any type of music.
In studies of restaurants and supermarkets, it has been illustrated that music tempo can affect the pace of
shopping, length of stay, and amount of money spent [42, 43]. In another study, familiarity of music played in a
department store setting was found to affect the shopper‟s perceptions of how long they spent shopping; when
the music was unfamiliar to subjects, they believed they had spent more time shopping [44]. While the food and
the service should be of acceptable quality, pleasing physical surroundings (e.g., music) may determine to a
large extent the degree of overall satisfaction and subsequent behaviour in the restaurant industry [45].
Furthermore, atmospheric music was found to affect the customer perceptions of business places [46] customer
satisfaction and relaxation [47] and purchase intentions [48].
Fig. 1: Conceptual Framework. Source: Adapted from Kasapila (2006), Namkung & Jang (2008), Jang & Liu
(2008), Jang & Ha (2009) and Chen & Hu (2010)
Research hypotheses:
Based on the conceptual framework (figure 1) above, the researcher has identified four independent
variables namely spatial layout, interior design, colour and music. The dependent variable is customer
satisfaction. From the framework, four hypotheses were formulated:
H1: There is a relationship between spatial layout and customer satisfaction
H2: There is a relationship between interior design and customer satisfaction
H3: There is a relationship between colour and customer satisfaction
H4: There is a relationship between music and customer satisfaction
Methodology:
The questionnaire started with a letter from the researcher that informs the respondents regarding the study.
The letter stated that the data gathered will be treated as confidential and the respondents need to answer the
questionnaire in approximately 10 minutes. The questionnaire is personally self-administered by the respondent.
The questionnaire comprises three sections and it was divided into two parts. The first part, questions answer
research objectives, research questions and research hypotheses of this study and the second part was about the
respondents' profile. The first part consists of four sections namely spatial layout (8 items), interior design (5
items), colour (5 items) and music (4 items). It used a five point Likert scale in the questionnaire to measure the
relationship between restaurant ambience and customer satisfaction. It ranges from (1) strongly dissatisfied to
(5) strongly satisfied. Most of the items are adapted from Jang and Liu [30], Ha and Jang [34], Chen and Hu
[49], Namkung and Jang [5] and Kasapila [50]. Section two asks questions regarding customer satisfaction
towards the restaurants offered. The items for customer satisfaction are adapted from Jani and Han [51], Jang
and Ha [34], Jang and Namkung [52], Kim, Han, and Ryu [53], Kasapila [50] and Boulding et al. [54].

5 Muhamad Saufiyudin Omar et al, 2015
International Journal of Administration and Governance, 1(4) Special 2015, Pages: 1-8
Similarly, it used five points Likert scale and ranging from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree. The total
items in this section were 16 items. Lastly, section three asks questions regarding the demographic profile of
respondents that consists of gender, age, race and frequency of dining in a month. This study focuses on the
individual satisfaction about the restaurant ambience in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia Arabic Restaurants.
Results:
Respondents Demography:
Table 1 provides the demographic profile of respondents who took part in the study. More female
respondents (64.2%) answered the questionnaire compared to male (35.8%). Most of the respondent age
between 21-30 years old (37.5%) answered the questionnaire followed by 31-40 years old (30.2%) and the
lowest were above 41 years old (11.2%). Most of the respondents were Malay (88.6%) followed by Chinese
6.6%, Indian 4.4% and lastly 0.5% from other races. Only 2.7% of the respondents dined at Arabic Restaurants
at a frequency of more than 6 times per month. 19% of the respondents dined at Arabic restaurants between 3 to
5 times in a month, while the majority of the respondents only dined at Arabic Restaurants at a rate of 1 to 2
times a month.
Table 1: Demographic profile of respondents.
Demographic variables
Category
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Gender
Male
147
35.8
Female
264
64.2
Age
20 years old and below
87
21.2
21-30 years old
154
37.5
31-40 years old
124
30.2
41-50 year old
46
11.2
Race
Malay
364
88.6
Chinese
27
6.6
Indian
18
4.4
Other
2
.5
Frequency of dining in a month
1-2 times
322
78.3
3-5 times
78
19.0
More than 6 times
11
2.7
Relationship between restaurant ambience attributes and customer satisfaction:
Based on Pearson Correlation test result in Table 2, the correlation of each independent variable (spatial
layout, interior design, colour and music) is significant at 0.01 levels, two- tailed toward customer satisfaction.
The result shows that there are positive relationship between all independent variables and customer satisfaction.
The value between spatial layout and customer satisfaction is 0.711, interior design is 0.684, colour is 0.731 and
music is 0.620. Colour shows the strongest positive relationship with customer satisfaction (r= 0.731), followed
by the spatial layout (r= 0.711) and interior design (r= 0.684). Music has the lowest positive relationship with
customer satisfaction (r= 0.620).
Table 2: The relationship between restaurant ambience attributes and customer satisfaction.
Attributes
Pearson Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
n
Spatial Layout
.711**
.000
411
Interior Design
.684**
.000
411
Color
.731**
.000
411
Music
.620**
.000
411
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Simple Linear Regression:
Simple linear regression analysis was made to test how well the measure of restaurant ambience attributes
influence customer satisfaction. Overall, restaurant ambience attributes were found significant (sig. value =
0.000 < α = 0.05); thus the model can be used for explanation or prediction of customer satisfaction. However,
one of the variable was found to be insignificant to be included in the model (sig. value > α = 0.05). Therefore,
this variable was considered to be removed in order to improve the model. In addition, Beta coefficient indicates
which variables are important to the model by looking at the largest value derived. Prediction of customer
satisfaction is explained in Table 3. The most significant and largest unique contribution to the model is
restaurant colour (ß = .386, p< 0.01), followed by spatial layout (ß = .311, p< 0.01), and music (ß = .202, p<
0.01). However, interior design is omitted due to its insignificant function played (ß = -.027, p< 0.05). The
model is significant [F (4,406) = 158, p < .001], with the predictors explaining 61% of the customers‟
satisfaction in the Arabic restaurants. The remaining 39% is explained by other predictor variables.

6 Muhamad Saufiyudin Omar et al, 2015
International Journal of Administration and Governance, 1(4) Special 2015, Pages: 1-8
Table 3: Simple linear regression.
Model
B
SE B
ß
t
Sig.
(Constant)
11.937
2.008
5.945
.000
Spatial layout
.644
.118
.311
5.438
.000
Interior design
-.080
.201
-.027
-.400
.689
Color
1.141
.177
.386
6.434
.000
Music
.585
.122
.202
4.795
.000
(Note: R² = .61, *p < .001)
Discussion, implication and conclusion:
Based on the results, hypothesis 1 is supported and indicating a significant relationship between spatial
layout and customer satisfaction. This shows that customers are satisfied with spatial layout that arranged by the
restaurant operators. This is consistent with previous studies which stated that spatial layout is one of the
important elements that contribute to customer satisfaction [5, 30]. Furthermore, spatial layout perception can
convey a sense of coziness and intimacy [55] and help consumers form a mental picture before any emotional
response or judgment of specific service environments [56]. Thus, the restaurant operator must make sure that;
facility layout, lighting, temperature, odor, menu design and arrangement of chairs and tables at their restaurant
is always maintained, and at optimum level in order to satisfy the customers.
Hypothesis 2, the relationship between interior design and customer satisfaction is supported. Although
simple linear regression result indicates that it does not significantly contribute to the model, Pearson correlation
test result shows that the hypothesis is supported. The positive relationship between interior design and
customer satisfaction is consistent with Namkung and Jang [5] and Jang and Liu [30] who stated attractive
interior design critically determine customer satisfaction.
The third hypothesis, the relationship between restaurant colour and customer satisfaction is also supported
and shows a strong positive relationship. Colour made largest unique contribution to the model. This means,
customers are highly agreed and like the colour scheme used by the restaurants. It shows that the colour used by
the restaurant operators is suitable with customers‟ taste. This indicates that the colour used by the restaurant
operators make them feel pleasant, comfortable and hungry. This is in line with a few studies by Namkung &
Jang [5], Kasapila [50] and Bellizzi and Hite [57].
Lastly, hypothesis 4 indicates the positive relationship between music and customer satisfaction. In line
with Namkung & Jang [5] music appeared to be a significant attribute that elicits customer satisfaction. Thus,
appropriate music is deemed necessary to add spice to restaurants. Furthermore Kasapila [50] and Ha and Jang
[34] suggest that music played is pleasant, suitable and entertaining. Restaurant operator therefore needs to
make sure that their music played is meeting with the customers‟ preference. According to Dube et al., [58],
Mattila and Wirtz, [26] and Milliman, [42, 43] music is a positive auditory cue for stimulating emotions and
behaviors in service settings.
As a conclusion, this study shows that spatial layout, interior design, colour and music have significant
relationships with customers‟ satisfaction. The largest contribution is colour followed by spatial layout, music
and interior design. Colour scheme choose by restaurant operators meet customers want and satisfied them, thus
the restaurant operators must make sure that their restaurant colour is always beautiful. The lowest contribution
was interior design. This shows that customers dislike the interior design created by the restaurant operators. So,
the restaurants operators must change the current interior design in order to satisfy customers and make them
return to the restaurant. This result showed that the objectives of this study are achieved. However, there are still
elements that need to be improved especially on interior design that has been discussed in this study.
Although this study has provided useful information about the customers‟ experience with the restaurant
ambience of the Arabic restaurant, there are a few limitations in this study that need to be dealt with in future
research. The first limitation is the location of data gathering. This study was conducted in Shah Alam area only,
thus the data obtained may not represent all Malaysian. Hence, for future study, researchers can distribute and
collect data in Kuala Lumpur as Kuala Lumpur has more Arabic restaurants. Secondly, this study uses
convenience sampling, in which the findings could not be generalized. Perhaps in future studies, researchers
may use other sampling methods. Thirdly, this study is conducted at any Arabic restaurants and the researchers
did not have any specific requirements whether the restaurants are from the high end or from the lower end
groups. Hence, future study may focus on specific criteria and preferably among restaurants in the high end
category. Finally the relationship between interior design and customer satisfaction that is found significant in
Pearson Correlation but insignificant in simple linear regression indicates the need for future studies to run
factor analysis in order to refine the questionnaire prior to data collection.
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