Fast Food Chains Research Articles

THE ACTIVITIES OF FOODSERVICE COMPANIES IN THE AREA OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY – ON THE EXAMPLE OF INTERNATIONAL FAST FOOD CHAIN

The aim of this paper is presentation of the activities of food service companies in the area of social responsibility. In today’s business world, there are many strategies being used to run business. Interest of the topic of corporate social responsibility has growing rapidly. Many companies have started to engage in CSR as strategy in order to gain benefits that can give them an added advantage over their competitors. The corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the company’s strategy, based on the assumption that business is responsible for the society within which it operates. There have been increasing numbers of companies engaged in CSR. CSR is becoming an important issue in the food service business. Nowadays CSR can drive companies to succeed in business by increasing sales volume and brand awareness and also added advantage over their competitors. For this thesis was decided to choose McDonald’s corporation as a case study. This is one of the famous restaurants all over the world. McDonald’s has a good reputation in terms of social responsibility. Hence, the significance of this paper is not only to increase related stakeholders’ understanding of CSR, resulting in the achievement of long term sustainability, but also fill in the academic gap of CSR, especially for catering business in Poland. The main objective of the article will be to find out, how McDonald's implements CSR towards employees, customers, supply partners and the community.Purpose: The aim of this paper is presentation of the activities of food service companies in the area of social responsibility on example of international fast food chain – McDonald’s.Methodology: For this thesis was decided to choose McDonald’s corporation as a case study, empirical, qualitative research method.Findings: Since last year’s McDonald's has been seen to adopt a more proactive strategy on CSR. McDonald’s has set good examples of social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility McDonald’s takes part in: animal welfare, corporate giving/Ronald McDonald House Charities, education scholarships, employment practices for, environmental practices, work with Corporate Social Responsibility Suppliers, Corporate Responsibility McDonald’s Reports.The evidence presents a case that the corporation is implementing CSR policies as a means to greater profitability. It is promoting itself as a notable corporate citizen and has turned CSR around from a cost of doing business into a profitable enterprise and been commended for it. But, McDonalds CSR strategies mostly lay in the overlapping ethics/law area.Originality/value: Hence, the significance of this paper is not only to increase related stakeholders’ understanding of CSR, resulting in the achievement of long term sustainability, but also fill in the academic gap of CSR, especially for catering business in Poland. The demand for results is related to a poor adoption of CSR in small companies, especially in the gastronomy business. There is a possibility to improve performance with the example of McDonald’s as the role model.

The effects of institutional quality and market potential on the agglomeration of fast food franchises in Central America

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the interplay of institutional quality and market potential factors on the agglomeration of foreign fast-food franchises in major cities in Central America.Design/methodology/approachThe authors approached the research question through a regression analysis of the main fast-food chains operating in the 41 largest cities in Central America. The exploratory analysis in this paper attempted to discover the statistical relationship between institutional quality and market potential factors on the agglomeration of fast-food chains in specific cities. The paper also examined the spatial distribution of fast-food units in selected cities to try to discover specific patterns on the selection of specific locations within each city.FindingsThe findings of this paper suggest that population size and institutional quality in terms of regulatory efficiency were the two most significant predictors of fast-food chains agglomerations in selected Central American cities. The authors also found a negative interaction between market potential and institutional quality on agglomeration of fast-food restaurants, whereby a relatively weak institutional environment might deter investors, even if initially a market offers moderate potential. Finally, they found specific geographic patterns for the chosen locations of fast-food places that signal to a preference for urban locations with easy access to main thoroughfares, high commercial traffic and more affluence.Research limitations/implicationsThe small sample size was a major constraint. Moreover, population size as a measure of market potential was available for all cities, but other city-level indicators were only available for a small number of cities. The preliminary results aligned with the predictions in this paper, yet the generalizability of the findings of this paper is limited by the sampling and measurement issues noted above. Finally, the paper did not include all fast-food chains in the cities examined, and inclusion of more foreign and domestic chains should be considered in future studies.Practical implicationsLocal governments should consider the factors that impact franchise chains’ decisions to enter a market and the specific locations in which they choose to locate their units. Improving the quality of local institutions could be instrumental in attracting investment.Originality/valueVery few studies have focused on Central America as a recipient of investment by fast-food chains. The region is less than attractive in terms of both market potential and risk. Yet fast-food franchises have continued to grow over the past two decades, making the examination of their investment decisions worth studying. The inclusion of institutional quality at the city level is an additional contribution of this paper. This paper furthers our understanding of the factors that drive investment decisions of global franchisors in regions with low to medium market potential and medium to high levels of institutional risk.

Agglomeration of fast food companies in Brazil

PurposeThis study aims to understand how the institutional and populational characteristics of a Brazilian city, that is, size, gross domestic product (GDP), life expectancy, education, violence and amount of workers benefiting from PAT (Workers’ Food Program) bias the agglomeration of fast-food companies.Design/methodology/approachThe research involved 7,653 units distributed among 270 brands of fast-food chains (9 foreign and 261 Brazilian) operating in 542 Brazilian cities in 2015 and institutional and populational characteristics information about them. It calculated the Herfindahl index and implemented mixed inflated beta models.FindingsThe study found out that the agglomeration of establishments is mainly associated with the city’s income per capita, education, GDP and with some differences regarding the origin of the company, Brazilian or foreign.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of the study are the availability of Brazilian cities' data and information about the fast-food companies, such as governance-related information and general infrastructure. The study was cross-sectional, which does not analyze the business installation speed.Practical implicationsThis work provides data collection and analyzes which factors may contribute to the knowledge of the Brazilian fast-food market. It stands out that foreign companies do not seem to contemplate city violence. The proposed models can serve as an investors’ foundation to start, expand business and predict the number of establishments in a city.Originality/valueThe study highlights the relation between the cities’ institutional and populational characteristics and the aggregation of fast-food chains in Brazilian cities, using index commonly applied in industrial agglomeration.

Consumer-Generated Reviews on Social Media and Brand Relationship Outcomes in the Fast-Food Chain Industry

ABSTRACTA number of studies agree on the fact that social media users tend to trust more the contents created by other users than those generated by companies’ marketing departments or advertising agencies. However, little is known regarding whether social media can actually enhance brand trust and other brand relationship outcomes that are deemed critical to the hospitality marketing literature. This paper seeks to offer some important insight on this issue by examining the impact of consumer-generated reviews on social media on four main pillars of the relationship marketing paradigm, i.e., satisfaction, trust, commitment, and loyalty. The inter-relationship between brand outcomes is also examined. The findings suggest that consumer-generated reviews on social media exert a direct impact on affective brand commitment and an indirect impact on brand loyalty. However, their influence on brand satisfaction and trust appears to be insignificant. The inter-relationship between brand relationship outcomes is also corroborated.

Food beliefs and food supply chains: The impact of religion and religiosity in Israel

This paper demonstrates that religion and religiosity affect norms, which affect food consumption patterns and production. Heterogeneity and asymmetric information lead to multiple certification channels as well as multiple supply chains. Major supply chains may address multiple constituencies that are secular or less religious. Technological change affects norms and thus the food system. We obtain these results by analyzing the food systems for meat products in Israel where there are three religions – Jews, Muslims, and Christians – and people assign themselves three levels of religiosity – secular, conservative, and orthodox. Israel has multiple Kosher and Halal certifiers and several specialized supermarket chains for orthodox groups. Its main supermarket chains serve secular and some conservative segments. The immigration of secular Jews from Russia led to the proliferation of non-Kosher supply chains and products, and increased consumption of pork. New technologies and higher incomes led to emergence of fast food chains serving orthodox Jews that had previously tended to eat at home.

Ethical intentions among frontline employees working in the US-based fast food chains in Pakistan

PurposeFollowing the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between ethical decision-making attitude, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and past behavior; to examine ethical intentions of frontline employees with their love of money as a moderator.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected data from 310 frontline employees (FLEs) in five US-based fast food chains (McDonald’s, Subway, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Hardees) across three cities of Pakistan, using self-administered questionnaires. The authors adopt the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique to test the theoretical model.FindingsThe authors demonstrate that LOM is a significant moderator. The relationships between two dimensions of TPB – the ethical attitude and subjective norms – and ethical intentions are much stronger for FLEs with a lower LOM orientation.Originality/valueThe inclusion of LOM to enrich TPB framework, investigation of ethical intentions of frontliners employed in US-based fast food chains and a developing country context are unique products of this study.

Peri-Peri Original: the expansion decision in Pakistan

Subject area Marketing of Services, Brand Management. Study level/applicability Graduate (MBA), Services Marketing Course. Case overview The case highlights growth challenges faced by a fast food brand named Peri-Peri Original in a developing country context of Pakistan. The major presence of the brand is in two major cities of Pakistan – Karachi and Lahore where mostly youth and families are the target markets of this brand. However, there is no unique element in the minds of the target market because the brand faces a differentiation challenge in the realm of strong global competition from McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). The management team at Peri-Peri has several environmental challenges to face as well. Internally, the brand is confused with its close competitor Nando’s as people perceive these two brands as the same. Second, there is growing concern among social activist groups and families in Pakistan that fast food consumption is causing diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and obesity among children. On the contrary, the global fast food chains especially McDonald’s and KFC are on top of the mind in the consideration set. With these challenges and concerns in mind, the brand team has two options on the table. One is to geographically extend the brand to other cities whereas the other option is to use the same outlets and dedicate a portion to the kids’ market segment to increase product variety and ultimately the store traffic. It is noticeable that the brand has a reputation of excellence in service quality; the employees are motivated and Peri-Peri have retained their staff over a period of time. Furthermore, the brand is a small scale restaurant with only limited budget and focused product mix which is its core spirit of branding – the chicken grilled in Mozambican sauces and a service attitude which no one can demonstrate; in a way, Peri-Peri is approaching to grow its brand equity. Expected learning outcomes To understand the brand positioning of developing countries’ organizations facing a growth challenge in a service environment. To understand the concept and application of Services Tangibility spectrum. To understand the decision-making process managers have to face when dealing with brand extension decisions. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 8: Marketing.

Service Quality and Branding Strategies at McDonalds

This report looks at the service quality and service efficiency delivered at the restaurant chain of McDonald’s. McDonald’s was first opened in USA over 50 years ago and the first McDonald’s in UK was opened at Woolwich in 1974 (Crosby, 1979). Today, McDonald has opened over 1000 branches in UK. This report looks at the existing service structure at McDonalds and provides certain recommendations in the field of SERVQUAL and brand strategy that the company might incorporate to improve their service efficiency. This report takes into account the service characteristics such as intangibility, heterogeneity that are relevant to the fast-food chain restaurants such as McDonald’s. Further, this report also studies the service blueprint and servicescape that has been adopted at various outlets of the company. From the findings of this report it can be suggested that there is scope for improvement of McDonald’s stores in their design layout for faster delivery of food and better service delivery to consumers. Branding strategies of the company such as co-branding and individual branding can be adopted to improve the perception of the service quality amongst consumers. This report proves that SERVQUAL can be utilized to understand the gaps creates in service delivery and consumer perception (Carman, 1990). This report helps in understanding how McDonald’s can improve their service qualities to improve customer perception (Bolton and Drew, 1991).

A comparison of the Health Star Rating system when used for restaurant fast foods and packaged foods

BackgroundIn June 2014, the Australian government agreed to the voluntary implementation of an interpretive ‘Health Star Rating’ (HSR) front-of-pack labelling system for packaged foods. The aim of the system is to make it easier for consumers to compare the healthiness of products based on number of stars. With many Australians consuming fast food there is a strong rationale for extending the HSR system to include fast food items. ObjectiveTo examine the performance of the HSR system when applied to fast foods. DesignNutrient content data for fast food menu items were collected from the websites of 13 large Australian fast-food chains. The HSR was calculated for each menu item. Statistics describing HSR values for fast foods were calculated and compared to results for comparable packaged foods. ResultsData for 1529 fast food products were compared to data for 3810 packaged food products across 16 of 17 fast food product categories. The mean HSR for the fast foods was 2.5 and ranged from 0.5 to 5.0 and corresponding values for the comparator packaged foods were 2.6 and 0.5 to 5.0. Visual inspection of the data showed broadly comparable distributions of HSR values across the fast food and the packaged food categories, although statistically significant differences were apparent for seven categories (all p < 0.04). In some cases these differences reflected the large sample size and the power to detect small variations across fast foods and packaged food, and in others it appeared to reflect primarily differences in the mix of product types within a category. ConclusionsThese data support the idea that the HSR system could be extended to Australian fast foods. There are likely to be significant benefits to the community from the use of a single standardised signposting system for healthiness across all fresh, packaged and restaurant foods.

The Transformation of African Smallholders into Customer Value Creating Businesses: A Conceptual Framework

ABSTRACTAn increasing number of the 600 million African smallholders are becoming integrated into the supply chains of supermarkets, fast food chains, and exporters. This process gradually transforms the smallholders into profit-oriented businesses that can make important contributions to rural development and food security. This article brings this issue to the attention of the readership of the Journal of African Business. It connects distinct lines of literature on smallholders, business training, and customer value creation. More specifically, it argues that to equip smallholders with the understanding of how markets function and what customers value, trainings that address fundamental marketing concepts are required. The arguments are captured in a conceptual framework explaining the livelihood performance of rural African smallholders. Based on these arguments, the article formulates implications for development workers and suggests directions for African business research.

Determinants of eating at local and western fast-food venues in an urban Asian population: a mixed methods approach

BackgroundLike several Southeast Asian countries, Singapore has a complex eating-out environment and a rising eating-out prevalence. However the determinants and drivers of eating-out in urban Asian environments are poorly understood.MethodsWe examined the socio-demographic characteristics of persons who frequently ate away from home in local eateries called hawker centres and Western fast-food restaurants, using data from 1647 Singaporean adults participating in the National Nutrition Survey (NNS) 2010. We also assessed the underlying drivers of eating out and evaluated if these were different for eating at local eateries compared to Western fast-food restaurants using 18 focus group discussions of women (130 women).ResultsParticipants reported a high eating-out frequency with 77.3% usually eating either breakfast, lunch or dinner at eateries. Main venues for eating-out included hawker centres (61.1% usually ate at least 1 of 3 daily meals at this venue) and school/workplace canteens (20.4%). A minority of participants (1.9%) reported usually eating at Western fast-food restaurants. Younger participants and those of Chinese and Malay ethnicity compared to Indians were more likely to eat at Western fast-food restaurants. Chinese and employed persons were more likely to eat at hawker centres. The ready availability of a large variety of affordable and appealing foods appeared to be a primary driver of eating out, particularly at hawker centres.ConclusionsOur findings highlight the growing importance of eating-out in an urban Asian population where local eating venues play a more dominant role compared with Western fast-food chains. Interventions focusing on improving the food quality at venues for eating out are important to improve the diet of urban Asian populations.

The Warm Glow of Restaurant Checkout Charity

Checkout charity is a phenomenon whereby frontline employees (or self-service technologies) solicit charitable donations from customers during the payment process. Despite its growing ubiquity, little is known about this salient aspect of the service experience. The present research examines checkout charity in the context of fast-food restaurants and finds that, when customers donate, they experience a “warm glow” that mediates a relationship between donating and store repatronage. Study 1 utilizes three scenario-based experiments to explore the phenomenon across different charities and different participant populations using both self-selection and random assignment designs. Study 2 replicates with a field study. Study 3 examines national store–level sales data from a fast-food chain and finds that checkout fund-raising, as a percentage of sales, predicts store revenue—a finding consistent with results of Studies 1 and 2. Managers often infer, quite correctly, that many consumers do not like being asked to donate. Paradoxically, our results suggest this ostensibly negative experience can increase service repatronage. For academics, these results add to a growing body of literature refuting the notion that small prosocial acts affect behavior by altering an individual’s self-concept.

Baked Beats Grilled: A Calorie Analysis of 18,000 Menu Items in Fast Food Chain Restaurants

Fast food and chain restaurants often give the menu items descriptive names related to the production processes (e.g., baked, fried, grilled, glazed). Do these descriptions in a food's name provide a useful indication of its calorie content?This study analyzed 342 different words that form the names of 18,614 menu items across 66 high‐traffic, affordable American restaurant chains (e.g., Starbucks, Applebee's, Panera Bread, Bojangles). Of the 342 words, 31 were related to production processes. A statistical analysis involving the calorie levels associated with the 31 words revealed that words related to batter and cheese – such as melt (+59%), topped (99%), or fried (38%) – were significantly higher in calories than the average. Interestingly, entries that were reliably lower in calories than average were either related to cutting techniques – such as sliced (−72%) or diced (−96%) – or how it was cooked – steamed (−43%), smoked (−30%), roasted (−27%), or baked (−26%).The findings suggest that it is possible to infer caloric levels from the preparation methods noted in the name of a menu item at a restaurant. Health conscious consumers would be well served to choose menu items described with cutting techniques (e.g., sliced, diced) and should be extra cautious when uttering menu names related to batter and cheese.

How Differing Demographic Factors Impact upon Customer Loyalty Towards National or International Fast-Food Chains: A Comparative Study in Emerging Markets

ABSTRACTThe aim of this paper is to study differing demographic factors affecting fast-food customers loyalty towards national or international fast food chains. A variety of variables used to gain a holistic view, which includes factors such as quality, price, food and demographic profile of consumers affecting loyalty of fast food chains. The study adopts the theory and method of the trust-commitment-loyalty explanation chain and examines the consumer survey adapted from Fast food by Sahagun et.al (2014). The present analyses 542 filled questionnaires in which systematic sampling is used. Indians prefer global fast food chains compared to Indian fast food chains. Loyalty towards global brands is higher than that for Indian brands because they are found to be of better quality which leads to higher frequency of visit and recommendation of the brands to their friends and colleagues. There is ethnic variation towards global and Indian fast food chains.

Food and Beverage Selection Patterns among Menu Label Users and Nonusers: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study

BackgroundBy May 5, 2017, restaurants with 20 or more locations nationwide will be required to post calorie information on menus and menu boards. Previous research shows that those who use menu labels purchase fewer calories, but how users are saving calories is unknown. ObjectiveTo assess food and beverage selection patterns among menu label users and nonusers. DesignSecondary, cross-sectional analysis using data from a study examining sociodemographic disparities in menu label usage at a national fast-food restaurant chain. Participants/settingParticipants were recruited outside restaurant locations, using street-intercept survey methodology. Consenting customers submitted receipts and completed a brief oral survey. Receipt data were used to categorize food and beverage purchases. Main outcome measureSide, beverage, and entrée purchases. Sides and beverages were classified as healthier and less-healthy options consistent with the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Healthier options contained items promoted in the guidelines, such as whole fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and 100% fruit juice; less-healthy options contained solid fat or added sugar. Entrées were categorized as lower-, medium-, and higher-calorie options, based on quartile cutoffs. Statistical analysesMultinomial logistic regression models were used to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) for purchases among menu label users and nonusers, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and total price paid. ResultsHealthier sides were selected by 7.5% of users vs 2.5% of nonusers; healthier beverages were selected by 34.0% of users vs 11.6% of nonusers; and lowest-calorie entrées were selected by 28.3% of users vs 30.1% of nonusers. Compared with nonusers (n=276), users (n=53) had a higher probability of purchasing healthier sides (PR=5.44; P=0.034), and healthier beverages (PR=3.37; P=0.005). No significant differences were seen in the purchasing patterns of entrées. ConclusionsTargeting educational campaigns to side and beverage purchasing behaviors may increase the effectiveness of menu labeling.

Can a Toy Encourage Lower Calorie Meal Bundle Selection in Children? A Field Experiment on the Reinforcing Effects of Toys on Food Choice.

The goal of this research was to test whether including an inexpensive nonfood item (toy) with a smaller-sized meal bundle (420 calories), but not with the regular-sized meal bundle version (580 calories), would incentivize children to choose the smaller-sized meal bundle, even among children with overweight and obesity. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect in a between-subjects field experiment of a toy on smaller-sized meal choice (here, a binary choice between a smaller-sized or regular-sized meal bundles). A random sample of 109 elementary school children from two schools in the Tucson, Arizona metropolitan area (55 females; Mage = 8.53 years, SDage = 2.14; MBMI = 18.30, SDBMI = 4.42) participated. Children’s height and weight were measured and body-mass-index (BMI) was calculated, adjusting for age and sex. In our sample, 21 children were considered to be either overweight or obese. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect of a toy on smaller-sized meal choice. Results revealed that the inclusion of a toy with a smaller-sized meal, but not with the regular-sized version, predicted smaller-sized meal choice (P < .001), suggesting that children can be incentivized to choose less food when such is paired with a toy. BMI neither moderated nor nullified the effect of toy on smaller-sized meal choice (P = .125), suggesting that children with overweight and obesity can also be incentivized to choose less. This article is the first to suggest that fast-food restaurant chains may well utilize toys to motivate children to choose smaller-sized meal bundles. Our findings may be relevant for consumers, health advocates, policy makers, and marketers who would benefit from a strategy that presents healthier, but still desirable, meal bundle options.

台湾における日系外食企業の食品安全確保の取り組みと課題

台湾における日系外食企業の食品安全確保の取り組みと課題

Franchising and the internationalization of businesses: the case of fast food chains

The objective of this paper is to investigate the role of franchising in the process of internationalization of the fast food industry. The paper hypothesizes that franchising is an effective means of internationalization in the fast food industry that increases the revenues of the company. The hypothesis of the paper will be tested using the linear regression analysis. This analysis studies the relationship between revenues (dependent variable) and the number of outlets and the number of employees (independent variables). The sample includes 15 fast food chains from the list of 100 top franchises of 2017. The study of the annual reports of these 15 fast food chains revealed a correlation between the company’s decision to go global through franchising and the growth of its revenues. It is necessary to build a literature on the role of franchising in the internationalization of business. The originality of this paper lies in the way it seeks to illuminate future academic research on the impact of franchising as an internationalization process on business revenues.

Pal's Sudden Service: The Right Recipe

Pal's Sudden Service, a fast-food chain based in the southeastern United States, was nearly 10 times as profitable as its competitors—bigger, even, than the major national and international chains, which commanded superior economies of scale. Pal's was also the only food-service business ever to win the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for process excellence. This case explores Pal's operations and recipe for success, the elements of which are categorized according to Pal's approach to the Four Cs of a Lean transformation: customer service, process capability, controlling its processes, and coordinating the results over time as part of a long-term strategy. Excerpt UVA-OM-1506 Dec. 9, 2013 PAL'S SUDDEN SERVICE: THE RIGHT RECIPE Pal Barger's father and mother had been in the restaurant business. So when he was discharged from the air force in December 1953, it was natural for him to lease the Virginia House in Marion, Virginia. In 1956, Barger sold his interest in the Virginia House for $ 10,000. Using that capital and a $ 10,000 loan, he leased lan (which he later purchased) and built the first Pal's Sudden Service (Pal's) location in downtown Kingsport, Tennesee (Figure 1). Pal's was a fast-food chain focused on hamburgers, hot dogs, and french fries. It was inspired by a restaurant called 2-J's that Barger had seen in Austin, Texas. Additional inspiration came from a chance meeting with Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's, at the National Restaurant Show in Chicago, Illinois. Barger brought the work ethic and dedication to positive cultural change and high performance that he had learned in the air force to that first Pal's store. Figure 1. The first Pal's location. Source: Goldberg Productions, Inc. . . .

Customer experience in international fast food restaurants

StarbucksTMCoffee Company has more than 25,000 retail stores in 75 countries and is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Starbucks’ mission is „to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time” and its slogan has been to bring their customers exceptional experiences. McDonald'sTM, in turn, is one of the world's largest fast-food restaurant chains, serving approximately 69 million customers daily in over 120 countries across approximately 36,900 outlets. McDonald’s doesn’t mention any real mission in their company profile, but the strong slogan “I am loving it” describes well the company’s mission as well as the customer experience they hope to give their customers. The new trend in large international companies is that it is no longer customer satisfaction that is important, but customer experience, which along with products or services carries a lot of weight in customers’ final decision making. The purpose of this research was to examine the formation of and to measure customers’ conscious experience of products and services in the business to consumer environment with two student groups in Poznan, Poland. The research was carried out in a Starbucks coffee shop as well as in a McDonald’s fast food restaurant in Poznan, Poland with a fuzzy logic based customer experience application. The research clearly shows the possibilities to monitor, develop and improve the degree of conscious as well as unconscious areas of customer experience. Furthermore, the test results were used to verify and validate the usability and structure of the ontology and the used application. The application operated well, and the test groups were satisfied with both the operation of the application as well as the collective results, which are presented in this article. Finally, some possible future actions related to the customers’ conscious and unconscious experiences are suggested.