A Study of the Expectation and Perception of Customers in Restaurants Classified In Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA)

The purpose of this research is to investigate the level of expected and perceived quality from the perspective of restaurant consumers in Aqaba, detecting the gaps between the two levels and comparing them against each of the quality parameters. A convenient sample of 240 respondents was chosen, and a questionnaire was sent to the restaurant's patrons. The servqual scale was used to quantify the difference between expected and perceived quality against the five characteristics of quality, which are tangibility, dependability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, using 180 valid questionnaires. The sample characteristics were described using descriptive statistics such as standard deviation, frequencies, and percentages. For analysis and hypothesis testing, correlation, regression, variance, t-test, and f-test were utilized. The study's main findings indicated that the differences between the perceived and ex-pected mean of service quality were negative for each dimension of the quality dimensions, implying that the perceived level of quality after using the restaurant service is lower than the level of quality expected before using the restaurant across all quality dimensions. Keywords: Expectation, Perceptions Tangibility, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, Empathy