Drivers of customer satisfaction with restaurants during COVID-19. A survey of young adults in Taiwan and Indonesia.

Consumer behavior and preferences regarding restaurant patronage during a pandemic are different than those under ordinary conditions. This research investigates the new drivers of customer satisfaction with restaurants in two different countries, Indonesia and Taiwan, by surveying young adults and analyzing their responses through various structural equation modeling techniques. The severity of the outbreak in each country moderates the intensity of the effects of the determinants of trust, whereas building trust through safety precautions and a safe physical environment becomes the key factor to achieve customer satisfaction. In fact, under extraordinary conditions of lifestyle disruption involving high perceived uncertainty and risk, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, trust assumes the role of mediator in the relationship between customer satisfaction and its drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]