How do diners judge restaurant meals based on price?
While it is long believed that people judge something based on its peak and end, a new study from the University of Cornell in New York showed that this can significantly change depending on how much one shells out for the experience.
Writing in the Journal of Product and Brand Management, researchers Dr. David Just and Dr. Brian Wansink of Cornell and Dr. Ozge Sigirici of Turkey’s Marmara University investigated how cost changed the relationship between a customer’s overall judgment of the meal and the evaluation of each pizza slice.
Separating 139 eat-all-you-can restaurant diners into two – one charged $4 with another charged $8 for an Italian lunch buffet fare – the study found that for the $4 diners, the peak-end rule applied when it came to evaluating overall taste, satisfaction, and enjoyment of the pizza. They rated the meal based on the last pizza’s taste and the peak taste rating.
It was an entirely different story for the $8 diners, who appeared to base their evaluation completely on their impression of their first pizza slice. The researchers also recorded other behavioral and self-perception measures to arrive at their conclusions.
Study author Dr. Just said that previous research has cited the influence of price on overall evaluation – but that their study is the first to show how the cost potentially changes what diners pay attention to when it comes to evaluating quality.
"It is really remarkable how simply increasing the price can lead one to focus so much less on the end experience and so much more on that first impression,” he said.
Their study suggested that when the dining experience is evaluated, not all aspects of the experience are taken into account. With moderate to high prices, establishments may gain from giving diners the best experience first, while lower-priced restaurants may have to save the best for last.
Photo: Tom Hilton | Flickr
