Curbside pickup is a convenient service valued by both consumers and restaurants. Yet, it remains unclear what parts of the curbside pickup experiences matter most to restaurant customers – and how restaurants can deliver better service. The Makeup of Consumers’ Restaurant Curbside Pickup Experiences According to the service encounter framework, consumers typically experience four phases in their “journey” with a restaurant curbside pickup service (Figure 1). They are Information search experience during word-of-mouth encounter (e.g., browsing online reviews and products on the app) Ordering experience during function encounter (e.g., placing and tracking orders on the app or website) Pickup experience during distributor encounter (e.g., waiting for the order and interacting with the staff onsite) Food consumption experience during service results encounter (e.g., consuming the food) Inspiration for the Study It is unlikely that all four phases of service encounter experienc...
Hospitality/Tourism Management | Service Marketing | Information Technology