Model of customer experience management in Thai full-service restaurant

Abstract

This study aimed to purpose the customer experience management model at Thai full-service restaurants as the customer experience management is the crucial factor for successful the restaurant business in the present. Before revealing the customer experience management model's ultimate result, it is mandatory to expose the study based on three objectives: 1) to identify the international tourist's tourist behavior in Thai full-service restaurants. 2) to evaluate customer experience management's efficiency along the customer journey at a Thai full-services restaurant. 3) to examine the influence of overall customer experience management on customer satisfaction.

A mixed methodology of qualitative and quantitative analysis was employed to gather and analyze the data based on research objectives. Four hundred international tourists provided information about their tourist behavior and evaluated customer experience management efficiency in Thai full-service restaurants. Moreover, the researcher also conducted a semi-structured interview with 30 international tourists and ten restauranteurs to investigate the efficiency of managing customer experience management in a Thai full-service restaurant. Additionally, international tourists were collected data about consumption emotion and customer satisfaction as the dependent variable. The descriptive statistic, inferential statistic, structure equation model, content analysis was employed to analyze the data.

The study results revealed that international tourists mostly visit Thai full-service restaurants in the group of 3-5 or couple. Most of them were either family or friends. They preferred to order in the set menu and single dish and were motivated to visit Thai full-service restaurants since they wanted to experience Thai food and were influenced by their taste and cleanliness. At the same time, tourists evaluated all the customer experience touchpoints at the efficiency level, especially when the customer enjoyed the food and beverage, which was the stage with the highest level of importance and efficiency. Nevertheless, further gap analysis among all touchpoints' important and efficiency levels showed that six paired important level higher than the efficiency level which was the availability of restaurant location on online navigation program, cleanliness of dining area, communication skills of service staff, the taste of food and beverage, the freshness of food and beverage, cleanliness of food and beverage and the authenticity of food and beverage. Lastly, the result presented that the overall customer experience did not significantly influence customer satisfaction but showed the indirect influence through customers' consumption emotion. The qualitative approach also revealed a similar result, suggesting that the restaurant emphasizes food quality, ingredient, and taste, to create a good experience at the Thai full-service restaurant.

Therefore, the customer experience management model of Thai full-service restaurants proposed along 6 stages of the customer journey. 1. Pre-arriving stage should start from the pre-arrival stage regarding information management efficiency. The customer can reach the restaurant without loss. The information should be sufficient for the customer to make the decision. 2. Arriving stage, restauranteur should set a nice exterior to welcome the guest, availability of host staff can make the customer feel welcome. 3. Entering the dining area stage, the restauranteur should focus on the dining area's cleanliness and delivery of Thainess through decoration. 4. Menu presenting and meal ordering stage, the restauranteur should focus more on the service staff's communication skills, knowledge, and professionalism, which was the primary determinant of the customer experience. The restaurateur should train service staff both in menu knowledge and communication skills. 5. Customer enjoying the food and beverage should offer quality ingredients, the standard operating procedure, cleanliness of food, and the authenticity of food taste but should allow flexibility. 6. Billing and customer leaving, the bill's correction is the most important and convenient payment through different methods. Lastly, some traditional candy or snacks can create a pleasant feeling before customers leave.