Volunteers needed for restaurant appeal study

A restaurant full of jovial customers may be the single most important drawcard for new diners, according to a UQ Business School study.

PhD student Alastair Tombs needs 300 volunteers to help him complete his award-winning work into restaurant appeal.

His study examining the impact other customers have on diners’ choice of eatery, length of stay, amount purchased and intention to return recently won the 2003 European Academy of Marketing Award for “Best Paper based on a PhD Thesis” and the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy 2002 Doctoral Colloquium Award for “Proposal with the greatest potential to advance marketing knowledge”.

“Customers frequently choose restaurants based on numbers of other customers already there and whether they look like they’re having a good time or not. Take for example two restaurants side-by-side. Both look appealing, both have good-sounding menus but one is busy and the other is not. The former will get the new custom,” Mr Tombs said.

“Part of this decision is based on the premise that lots of people indicates good food or service, but another part is a desire to be absorbed into an enjoyable social atmosphere. Therefore, customers consider people and not just physical elements or décor when thinking about a potential eatery’s atmosphere.

“Restaurateurs spend a lot on décor and location when having a roomful of jovial customers could be the key to attracting and retaining business.”

He said the next phase of his research would investigate whether customers’ emotions were affected by the events within the environment, by the environment itself and/or how other customers were feeling.

“I am interested in how ‘contagious’ emotions are in these settings,” Mr Tombs said.

Study volunteers will be required to watch one of 12 recorded restaurant scenarios and then complete a short, anonymous questionnaire.

For more information, contact Mr Tombs (telephone 07 3346 9329 or mobile 0416 012 571, email a.tombs@business.uq.edu.au).