An Analysis of Factors Influencing Choice of Service Points: A Survey of Bars, Kisii Town’s Central Business District, Kenya.

Abstract

The ever changing and competitive nature of bar services has led to flourishing of some bars and closure of others that are unable to cope with the competition in Kisii town’s CBD. The main objective of the study was to identify and analyze the factors that influence consumer patronage for a bar. Other objectives included: ranking the identified factors in order of their importance, determining the categories of consumers who frequent the bars and to find out the services that the bars provided.  This was a survey study of bars within the Kisii town’s CBD. In order to achieve the study objectives, a sample of a hundred respondents in ten bars was selected. Systematic sampling was used in selecting the ten bars. Convenient sampling was used to draw 40% respondents from each target consumers of each bar. A sample of seven consumers was picked using the random sampling method from each bar while purposive sampling was used to pick, a manager, a bar maid and a cashier from each bar to represent the management respondents. Data was collected by administering a structural questionnaire to the bar consumers and the bar owners during repeated visits to each bar over the period of study. Assistants were incorporated in data collection procedure. They presented copies of the questionnaire to consumers to complete a few minutes after entry of consumers into the bars.  The project incorporated descriptive data analysis tools and the Likert scale was used to determine the weight of each factor influencing consumer patronage. The research’s main findings reflected that, patronage status exist in bars in Kisii  town’s CBD, many of the bars offered variety services and beer taking was the most commonly service sought for by consumers. The research revealed that there were six categories of consumers for bar services thus, the Government, private company, college students, self-employed, unemployed and the professional categories. The professional category formed the highest number of consumers, and then followed by the Government category, college student category, self-employed category, private company category and the unemployed category in that order.

KEY WORDS: Service points, Consumer Patronage, Consumer Behaviour