Response to Caitlyn Croasdale's Question

Do you pay more for food or atmosphere when you go out to eat? 

                      I believe that it is a combination of both that causes you to pay more. When customers go out to eat they are paying for a certain experience that they want, just like when they go to a baseball game or a movie theater. For a restaurant it is the food and the atmosphere that make up that experience. A customer will pay more at a fancy restaurant because they want a high quality experience. That means that no only does the atmosphere have to show a restaurant of high quality but the food must be excellent as well, otherwise you will end up with a unsatisfied customer. If the customer goes to a fast food restaurant they pay little but that is because the expectations for the experience are low as well, thus they are satisfied with poor atmosphere and generic tasting foods. Overall what the customer is willing to pay more for is a better experience. That means both the food and atmosphere need to be at a certain level in order for you to have satisfied customers in your target market .

 

Q2 Customer Satisfaction vs. Customer Value

                     Customer Satisfaction and customer value is interdependent. When a customer is looking to purchase a particular product they are looking to get what they perceive to be the best value for the product. In order for them to find the best valued product they take into account factors such as how well the product works, cost, quality, customer service and support, and reliability. Each customer rates and ranks these factors differently but all are part of how the customer values a product.  These factors are graded by the experience the customer has with the company and how the product meets the customers’ expectations. The evaluation of those two areas determines if the customer believes he or she received a good or bad value. If the customer does believe they’ve received a good value then they are satisfied, if not then they are unsatisfied. 

Which of the factors of value to a customer do you think is most important to customer satisfaction? Why?