An identification of customers’ preferred restaurant menu measures during a crisis using Best-Worst Scaling (BWS)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The restaurant’s menu is considered the primary determinant of a restaurant’s profitability and customer satisfaction. This article explores consumers’ preferences of restaurant menu measures applied during a crisis. Based on pertinent literature review in conjunction with inputs from F&B experts, the researchers identified a list of 6 restaurant menu practices that managers implement during a crisis. The researchers used the Best-Worst Scaling (BWS) method to identify customers’ choices for the menu measures. Based on the analysis of survey responses from 568 restaurant customers, the findings demonstrate that menu measures applied during a crisis are perceived differently across the three restaurant categories: fine dining, casual dining, and quick service. The results of this study have not only practical contribution to the case of Lebanon, but they also fill a gap in the knowledge, and extend the existing literature with restaurant consumers’ preference of menu measures during a crisis, and provide a list of practices to be implemented by F&B professionals.