ANALISIS PENGARUH KUALITAS PELAYANAN TERHADAP LOYALITAS PELANGGAN MELALUI KEPUASAN PELANGGAN SEBAGAI VARIABEL MEDIASI (Studi Pada Pelanggan Rumah Makan Padang Payakumbuah)

Customer loyalty plays a vital role in ensuring business sustainability, particularly in the culinary service industry. Service quality significantly affects both customer satisfaction and loyalty. Rumah Makan Padang Payakumbuah, a Minang restaurant known for its premium concept and authentic West Sumatran ingredients, still faces several customer complaints. Issues include slow service, disorganized cashier queues, inefficient food presentation, and perceived pricing mismatches with food quality. These problems indicate a gap between customer expectations and actual experiences, which may impact satisfaction and loyalty levels. This study aims to examine the influence of service quality on customer loyalty through customer satisfaction as a mediating variable. The research was conducted at Rumah Makan Padang Payakumbuah in Malang, involving 90 respondents selected using probability sampling. A quantitative approach was employed, and data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling with Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS). The findings reveal that service quality has a positive and significant effect on both customer satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, customer satisfaction significantly influences loyalty and serves as a complementary mediator between service quality and customer loyalty. These results highlight the importance of maintaining and improving service quality consistently to build customer satisfaction and long-term loyalty in the competitive culinary business environment