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A model examining the relationship between restaurant employees' reactions to their work environment and their jobs as service providers and guest satisfaction was tested among twenty-five restaurants from a casual [...]

The Liebeck hot coffee case is discussed, showing that the court's decision was not whimsical, but predicated on the knowledge and behaviour of McDonald's as represented and displayed by their [...]

Asked for their reactions to specific demand-shifting tactics based on revenue management, patrons of a restaurant in Ithaca, New York, indicated that they generally would be willing to shift their [...]

In a series of three studies, a two-factor measure of apprehension toward Internet use was developed and tested among three independent samples of consumers. The relationship between general Internet apprehensiveness (GIA) and transactional Internet apprehensiveness (TIA) was examined in concert with the relationship between consumers' online information seeking, purchasing intentions, and behaviors. Results indicated that (1) a two-factor measure of GIA and TIA demonstrated construct validity across three independent samples of potential Internet users, (2) GIA is more strongly related to perceptions of Internet use for information seeking compared to online purchasing, and (3) TIA is more strongly related to perceptions of online purchasing activities and reported online purchasing behavior compared with perceptions of online information-seeking behavior. Implications for management practice and further research are presented. Keywords: Internet apprehension; innovation resistance; Internet consumerism

Restaurant customers' word-of-mouth communication patterns: When restaurant food service goes awry, one might expect the unsatisfied guest to go out and complain to her friends. In fact, word-of-mouth patterns--good or [...]

In an attempt to create a behavioral profile of pleasure travelers segmented based on Internet use, 5,319 pleasure travelers were interviewed. Initially, the respondents were classified as an Internet user or Internet nonuser based on whether or not they would use the Internet to seek travel-related information. Using discriminant analysis, chi square, and analysis of variance statistical techniques, a profile of demographic and behavioral characteristics was created. The results of this study suggest that people who use the Internet to search for travel-related information are likely to be people who are (a) college-educated owners of computers, (b) less than 45 years of age, (c) stay more often in commercial lodging establishments, and (d) spend more money each day while traveling. Implications for marketing managers and future research are discussed., This article identifies three mutually dependent congregations - academic researchers, marketing managers, and pleasure travelers - who are not ordinarily perceived as possessing common, much less interdependent, interests. A variety [...]

We estimate the impact of information disclosure on consumer knowledge in an important context: the calorie content of restaurant food. We conduct a randomized controlled experiment of calorie labels on restaurant menus, and find that information disclosure improves consumer knowledge but does not eliminate the problem of imperfect information. Calorie labels improve consumers’ post-meal estimates of the number of calories they ordered by 4.0 percent and reduce by 28.9 percent the probability that consumers underestimate the calories in their meal by half or more. However, even after information disclosure, the absolute value of percent error averages 34.2 percent.

Specific restaurant attributes can boast check averages and set a restaurant apart from competitors in the consumer's estimation. Full-service restaurants are under more pressure than ever, in part because the [...]

This paper examines the influence of customer-facing technology in full-service restaurants. As a new addition to the service experience, tabletop devices offer the customer more control over the dining experience, and also increase customer participation in the service process, which has the potential to upset the traditional exchange between service providers and customers in restaurants. To examine how customers react to the use of tabletop devices, this study examines 1,343 point-of-sales transactions from 20 units of a full-service casual dining restaurant chain and matches customer in-restaurant transactions to their reactions to tabletop devices used during their meals. Results show that over 70% of the customers who used tabletop devices reported positive affect toward the device, with approximately 79% of customers reporting that the device improved their experience, citing convenience, ease of use, and credit card security as some benefits of using the technology. Approximately 80% of the customers who used the device reported that they would return to the restaurant because of the positive affect. The results also indicate that likeability of the device and tip percentage were positively and significantly connected to customer reports of the devices having a positive effect on experience and on desire to return. In addition, when customers reported increased return intentions, likeability of the device was higher regardless of reports of the device improving restaurant experience, showing that the introduction of tabletop devices had a positive effect for most—but not all—customers.

A model of customer service behavior and outcomes was proposed and tested among managerial-supervisory personnel (N = 250) from 11 hotel properties within six large national and international hotel companies. Confirmatory factor analyses yielded a reliable approach to examine elements of customer service and outcomes in a service-based setting. Specifically, organizational support was represented by two independent dimensions of coworker support and supervisory support. A dimension of standards for service was presented and validated as a central mediating factor in the perception of service processes, along with customer (guest) orientation, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions as outcome measures in a path model of customer service behavior.

A critical prerequisite for the formulation of effective travel marketing strategies in the next decade must include an understanding of the influence exerted through the Internet. The increasing presence of the Internet as an instrument for advertising travel destinations and travel-related services highlights its importance as a factor in travelers'decision-making processes. This exploratory investigation examined travelers who requested on-line infor mation about a potential vacation destination using the Internet. Results of this investiga tion suggest that Internet "users," when compared with "nonusers," are more educated, have higher household incomes, use commercial lodging accommodations while travel ing, tend to travel by air, and spend more money on travel-related expenses on a per diem basis. Implications for target marketing strategies designed for travel destination areas, services, and facilities are discussed.

The authors report the results of a test of the construct validity of the Hinkin and Schriesheim (1989) scales based on the French and Raven (19569) power scales using a hospitality industry sample. In addtition, scales for subordinate self-percep tion of power were suggested and tested. The internal and external consistency of all scales was satisfactory and nomological expecations were met. Unanticipated relationships are discussed and explanations proffered.