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Hospitality Leadership Through Learning
Faculty & Research

Customer Preferences for Restaurant Technology Innovations

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Vol 9 No 7
By:  Michael Dixon, Sheryl E. Kimes Ph.D., and Rohit Verma Ph.D.

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Executive Summary: When restaurateurs evaluate whether to adopt technology-based service innovations, they must consider not only the costs and benefits of that technology, but also customers’ reactions to the procedural changes accompanying the innovation. Technology that damages customer satisfaction may not be worthwhile, no matter how much it reduces labor costs. In this report we present the results of a national survey on customers’ perceptions of eleven restaurant technologies, as well as whether respondents use those technologies and the value they see in them. The technologies are pagers for table management, handheld order taking while waiting in line, internet-based ordering, kiosk-based payment, kiosk-based food ordering, online reservations, payment via SMS or text message, payment via (RFID) smart card, payment via cell phone using NFC technology, virtual menus available tableside with nutritional information, and virtual menus online with nutritional information. These technologies are categorized in the following five categories: kiosk, menu, online usage, payment-based service innovations, and queuing. Using a research technique called best-worst choice analysis, the study found that the technologies used most commonly were pagers and online reservations, while cell-phone payment was used hardly at all. The results show that the perceived value of a specific technology increases after the customers have had the opportunity to use it, and different demographic segments valued the technologies differently. Frequent technology users visited restaurants more often than infrequent technology users did.

Your Comments Please

If this CHR Report made a positive impact on your management approach or business operations, we welcome your commentary. We would like to post your comments on our website. Please submit your comments to js372@sha.cornell.edu and rohit.verma@cornell.edu.

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Comments

Your study "Customer Preferences for Restaurant Technology Innovations" was fantastic.

I run a small business that provides menu/nutritional analysis to restaurant-goers via interactive software, so of course this study is an important tool for me.  It will help support my stance that restaurants really can hone in on customer satisfaction as well as develop a powerful competitive advantage.

Dina Aronson, MS, RD
President, Welltech Solutions

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About Sheryl E. Kimes Ph.D.

Dr. Sheryl E. Kimes is a professor of operations management at the School of Hotel Administration. From 2005–2006, she served as interim dean of the Hotel School and from 2001-2005, she served as the school’s director of graduate studies. Kimes teaches restaurant revenue management, yield management and food and beverage management. She has been named the school’s graduate teacher of the year three times. Her research interests include revenue management and forecasting in the restaurant, hotel and golf industries. She has published over 50 articles in leading journals such as Interfaces, Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Service Research, Decision Sciences, and the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. She has served as a consultant to many hospitality enterprises around the world, including Chevy’s FreshMex Restaurants, Walt Disney World Resorts, Ruby’s Diners, Starwood Asia-Pacific and Troon Golf. Kimes earned her doctorate in Operations Management in 1987 from the University of Texas at Austin.

For more information visit http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/facultybios/faculty.html?id=43

About Rohit Verma Ph.D.

Rohit Verma is an associate professor of service operations management at the School of Hotel Administration, and also serves as the Executive Director for the Center for Hospitality Research. Prior to his current appointment, he was the George Eccles Professor of Management, David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. He has also taught MBA and executive development classes at DePaul University, Chicago, IL, University of Sydney, Australia, Norwegian School of Logistics, Norway, Helsinki School of Economics, Finland, and Indian School of Business, India. His research interests include new product/service design, quality management and process improvement, supplier selection strategies, and operations/marketing interrelated issues. He has published over 40 articles in prestigious business journals such as California Management Review, the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Decision Sciences, Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Journal of Service Research, MIT Sloan Management Review, Production and Operations Management, and other journals. His research has been sponsored by the Hospitality Sales Association International (HSMAI), United States Forest Service, Marketing Science Institute, and various corporations such as CSFB, First Chicago, NCR Knowledge Lab, General Growth Properties, Siemens, Mead Johnson, Kimberley Clarks, Hammerson and others. Verma has received several teaching and research awards including the "Skinner Award For Early Career Research Accomplishments" from the Production and Operations Management Society; "Spirit of Inquiry Award" the highest honor for scholarly activities within DePaul University; “Teaching Innovation Award” DePaul University; and “Doctoral faculty Teaching Award” University of Utah. He serves as the associate editor of Journal of Operations Management, and Decision Sciences; senior editor of Production and Operations Management; and editorial board member of Journal of Service Research, and the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. He also served as guest editor for four issues of the Journal of Operations Management on topics related to effective management of service businesses.

For more information visit http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/facultybios/faculty.html?id=179