Executive Summary of Findings
Focus Group – Restaurants
The focus group provided insights into restaurant customer behavior; specifically, the session suggested determinants of restaurant loyalty, overcoming restaurant failure, and why customers would pay may more to eat at certain restaurants.
In general, reasons why people dine out at sit-down (full-service) restaurants include convenience of dining, being waited on, entertainment value of the dining experience, food quality, culture (in that dining out is encouraged in the U.S.), low price, and avoiding kitchen ‘clean up’ after a home-cooked meal.
As the menu is an important restaurant component, participants were asked what they look for in a menu. Responses included value (relationship between price and quality), vivid descriptions of the dish offered, portion size (which is a reflection of value), flavors of the dishes, sequencing of menu items, specials and unique dishes, recommended dishes, and pictures of the dishes. Respondents mentioned that the type of restaurant dictates menu design. For example, a high-end restaurant is less likely to use oversized fonts, extravagant colors, and pictures to describeits dishes; rather, a more subdued menu—one that includes simple dish descriptions with minimal color—is expected.
In addition to the menu influencing value perceptions of a restaurant, the ambience/atmosphere is, at the very least, equally important. In discussing what they look for in restaurant ambience, participants mentioned knowledgeable wait staff, presentation of the wait staff, appealing wall décor, silverware quality, use of table cloths and cloth napkins, noise-controlled environment (can speak softly while dining), appropriate colors, and pleasant yet non-overpowering scents (as strong food smells can deter patrons from entering a dining room).In addition, genuine customer service is essential to service ambience. Scripted behavior is a negative correlate of perceived restaurant value. Friendly waiters who can remember customer names and are able to form genuine relationships with patrons contribute meaningfully to the dining experience and perceived value of restaurant ambience.
As full-service restaurant competition is fierce, this session sought to explore factors that contribute to restaurant switching; these factors include alack of restaurant cleanliness (in the dining area, kitchen, waiting area, bathrooms, and parking lot) and poor customer service, which may be evidenced by scripted communication, limited visits to the table during the meal, and excessive time between visits to the table. Participants noted that a poor meal (for example, food that is under or over cooked) is more excusable than poor customer service; thus, the latter contributes more to switching. In addition, high price, negative media publicity, and peer recommendations contribute to restaurant switching.
Finally, this session was meant to explorethe featuresthat people associate with theirfavorite restaurants and if those features are worth paying for at a full-service restaurant. Participants noted that quality food and service, ambience (authentic experience, dining room options – inside and outside), rewards card, prestige, and décor are valued features of their favorite restaurants and contribute to their willingness to pay more for a meal at these restaurants. In terms of paying more for a sit-down meal, a 5-10 percent increase of the bill was acceptable; however, increasing the bill by 20 percentor more was not acceptable.