DEVELOPMENT OF SERVICE QUALITY MEASUREMENT FOR FOODSERVICE IN CONTINUING CARE RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES1

The purposes of the study were to develop a service quality measurement applicable to foodservice of continuing care retirement communities and to examine the dimensionality of service quality. The instrument developed for this study encompassed both the process and outcome aspects of service quality and reflected older customers' specific needs and the unique dining environments of continuing care retirement communities. A pilot-test at a continuing care retirement community revealed that the instrument had high internal reliability. Residents in the independent-living units of five continuing care retirement communities were surveyed. The usable response rate was 48.8% (N=405). One factor was identified from exploratory factor analysis. Possible explanations of the unidimensionality of service quality are discussed and suggestions for future research provided.