Beef Industry Studies Customer Satisfaction
Eighty percent of Canadian consumers rate the steaks they cook at home seven out of ten, or higher. That’s one of the findings from The Beef Consumer Satisfaction Benchmark Survey. The leading edge survey actually measures customer satisfaction with beef they’ve prepared and eaten right in their own homes.
“Beef producers are doing all they can to ensure Canadians enjoy a quality eating experience. But we wanted to hear directly from consumers how they found the steaks they cooked at home,” says Bonnie Jean MacDonald, Director of Research with the Beef Information Centre.
Consumers taking part in the survey were randomly selected from shopping centres across the country. They were given one of four different cuts of steak: boneless cross rib, top sirloin, inside round and strip loin, and told to cook them in their homes. The participants later discussed their eating experience with an interviewer.
The study showed an interesting correlation between appropriate cooking method and ultimate consumer satisfaction. The inside round marinating steak had the lowest satisfaction rating, but only 10% of those surveyed marinated the steak prior to grilling. The cross rib simmering steak had similar results. “Given how few people used the appropriate cooking methods to prepare inside round and cross rib steaks, it is surprising that almost two-thirds of respondents ranked these steaks 7 or higher on a 10 point scale,” says MacDonald.
Consumers rated the two grilling cuts, top sirloin and strip loin, significantly higher than cross rib and inside round. “This was expected as these steaks are essentially goof-proof,” says MacDonald. “But with the other cuts, consumers needed some instruction to recognize that these steaks require a different treatment in order to have a great tasting steak.”
Surprisingly, the survey also showed that even when consumers didn’t know how to properly prepare a certain cut of steak, and they weren’t happy with the end product, the majority felt the problem rested with the product and not with their culinary skills.
To help Canadians hone their beef cooking skills, B.I.C. has developed a new guide - The Basics of Beef. It answers questions on choosing and preparing beef, helping them to match cuts of beef with an appropriate cooking method. The booklet also includes easy-to-prepare recipes and food safety tips.
