Until reading the decision-making process defined, I realized how as people we really do move in predictable patterns. I am a major fan of Italian cuisine. So much so, I went out to an Italian restaurant last night. If I was to be moving to Salt Lake City (SLC) and wanted takeout, I would have a few specific criteria I would be looking for. Because I would not be looking for a dining experience, I would want a restaurant that had quality pasta, preferably made in-house, at a casual restaurant where I could pick up my order. Ideally, my price range would be flexible though, I would stay away from expensive, fine-dining prices.
Yelp is the first place I will generally look for new restaurants. This is because the content is dominantly user-generated and has information about all the major cities in the United States. At this point, I am at the second step of the consumer decision-making process – information search. Once getting to the homepage, I type in “Italian Food” in “Salt Lake City, UT.” SLC does not have a lot of options for Italian food. It appears below twenty-five restaurants exist in SLC and its directly surrounding area. Sicilia Mia, Carmine’s, Caffe Molise, and Bartolo’s chase my attention first because they all have outdoor dining and takeout. Outdoor dining becomes an influencing factor because if I like the food, I will consider dining at the restaurant in the future.
Thus, the next step is to evaluate the alternatives that I have selected. To guide my decision, I will be focusing on reviewing the photos and menu on Yelp.com to make my selection. When I order pasta, I prefer a long noodle and no meat in the dish. Many of the restaurants met a few elements of the desired criteria, but Carmine’s easily became my top option. A photo of the inside dining area first appeared on the page and I instantly knew this place has strong potential. The menu had reasonable prices and, based on the photos, they had a comfortable portion side. From glancing at the menu, the “Spaghetti alle vongole,” which is spaghetti with fresh clams, dish sounded intriguing as I do like clams. However, the photos of the food are always what determines my final decision. They did not disappoint. The dish previously mentioned looked amazing and I discovered other dishes, such as Fettuccine allo Scoglio and Linguine Ara’gosta.
If I moved to Salt Lake City and wanted to order Italian food for takeout the first time, I would order from Carmine’s and get the Spaghetti alle vongole for pickup. Though I am unsure that others would pick the same dish as me, I am sure I will not be the only person who choose this restaurant. The photos look good; the menu’s prices are agreeable; the atmosphere looks promising. I am not a little hopeful to go to Salt Lake City now, because I wish I could order this meal.

The first phase is to recognize the need or problem. In this case, I want to get some Italian food. I want something casual, something like pizza or pasta. I’m want to pick up the food, since I’m new in town I like exploring the city and I might meet new people, you never know.

Stage two is where we begin to search for information about the product or service. When it comes to finding a restaurant, my go-to is Google Reviews. So I looked up “Italian restaurants in Salt Lake City.” I’m new to the area, so I used Yelp too, just to see more alternatives.

After checking restaurants on Yelp and Google Reviews, I finally chose a restaurant. A couple of restaurants caught my attention before making my decision. Restaurants like Sicilia Mia and VENETO Ristorante Italiano were options, but they didn’t have what I wanted on the menu or were too expensive. I ended up choosing Settebello Pizzeria Napoletan. They had good prices, great reviews, and their pizza looks incredible!.
When I’m looking for a restaurant before making my purchase, I usually read the first two or three reviews of the place to know what people think about it. I was totally sold when I read this review:

LuDogg T (5 stars):

Sooo good. Stopped by here to grab dinner after my flight. It was next to my hotel. Place is clean and has great service. Very casual.I ordered the brisket pizza and it was fantastic. The brisket and pizza combination gives you the best of both worlds. Crust was perfectly baked. 1 pizza was not enough. Could have eaten two. LOL

This review was posted with a picture attached of the pizza he got. It looked incredible. Adding that to their incredible prices, there was no doubt. I had to order their Marinara pizza and pick it up ASAP.

I realized that the consumer-making process it’s something we apply very often, sometimes without even noticing. Nowadays, with social media is easy to find information about something with want or need, which is incredibly helpful to find a quality product.

In this case, my preferences were really similar to other consumers. A lot of the reviews were from tourists or people that weren’t similar to the city, just like me. Also, it’s a restaurant that only makes pizza, so everyone that goes there knows what they want. That helps because people know what they were looking for, and based on the reviews, they were satisfied.

I’m in Salt Lake City and i’m looking for a good Italian restaurant. I’m staying at a hotel because i’m not familiar with the area so I would want my food delivered. I’m in the mood for pasta so I’ll find the best pasta in Salt Lake City.

The first step to finding a good restaurant is to see the reviews. I chose Stoneground Italian Kitchen. The rating is 4.5, its not that expensive and the reviews were actually helpful to making this decision.

Claudia De La Cruz said, “The food was amazing! Highly recommend this place. Atmosphere was cozy and elegant. Definitely visiting again!”  A lot of others left reviews like that and those were really helpful.

I also like to have a lot of options on the menu in case I change my mind about what I want to order. Looking at their menu and they have so many options. I also check the reviews about each different dish to see if its good.

The service and the prices is the last that I check and the prices are reasonable and the reviews say that the service is adequate. I’ve made my decision to order from this restaurant and I got the lasagna and it was probably the best lasagna I’ve ever had.

I discovered that understanding the customer decision-making process is critical, and that evaluations are really effective in making a selection. Reviews can really impact how you look at at restaurant online. My preferences might compare to other consumers by if they order the same thing as me and if they the same people wait on them.

Consumer Decision Making 

The first step is to recognize a problem or a need. In my case I need to find an Italian restaurant to get food from. The second step is to search for information and I will research Italian restaurants in Salt Lake City, Utah. The third step is evaluation of alternatives and I think that means that I will compare the Italian restaurants I find. 

I know my need/problem so that means I can move on to the second step. I searched up “Salt Lake City Italian Restaurants” then I scrolled down and found Yelp. I looked at a few restaurants based on their pricing and reviews. Then I decided to look at Google reviews. I checked out one of the two ads while also looking at the others that weren’t ads. The ones that weren’t ads had the same ratings as those that were ads. 

After reading a couple reviews that were good I had to make my decision. I picked Stoneground Italian Kitchen. Their rating (4.5/5) and the reviews from people made me choose it. They have one of the most google reviews compared to others. Stoneground Italian Kitchen has 810 google reviews which includes first time customers and local guides. Local guides really make an impact because they know the place and for them to leave a good review is persuading. The customers also recommend foods that they enjoyed/loved. 

Chelsea Nelson, a Local Guide left a review saying,“20 years laters and still one of THE BEST Restaurants downtown! Everything we ate tonight was Divine!! The Pork Tenderloin was my favorite though!” Just like that review by Chelsea, many others also left pleasing reviews. What I liked about reading the reviews was that they recommended their favorite food plate. 

Beth Johansen said, “A waitress told me the lasagna there was the best she’s ever had. That seemed like a rather lofty statement to me, but she was totally right. I’m going to remember that lasagna for a very long time- it was the perfect blend for everything. Tangy, chewy, saucy, carb-loaded heaven in a bowl.” This review in particular made me choose lasagna as my food choice. Before reading that review I saw that others also loved the lasagna the restaurant made. 

I realized that the consumer decision making process is important to know and that the reviews are really helpful to making a choice. After reading people’s love for the lasagna I looked at the menu and I saw the price. The price for homemade pasta, lasagna, is $24.00. I will judge the price until I taste the lasagna. But I have high hopes that it will turn out to be good because of  the amount of reviews that were convincing. I think my preferences might compare to different consumers by the past experiences I have or don’t have compared to those who do have the experience that I don’t have. Like if I’ve never tried lasagna from a lot of other places then I won’t really know if it’s the best pasta I will ever have.

When I choose a restaurant, I make my choice based on that particular occasion. My choice and decision making depend on the neighborhood I am in, the experience I would like to have and the overall budget.

So for my imaginary trip to Salt Lake City with my imaginary partner, I wanted to treat myself and choose the best possible Italian restaurant in town. I am staying in downtown Salt Lake City. After thorough research, I decided to pick ‘Valter’s Osteria’

Here is what I had in mind during the decision making:

1- The location and how convenient it is to my 5 star hotel.

2- The overall aesthetic of the restaurant and good it is designed. I am big on aesthetic and visuals. I can’t eat or sleep where it’s not aesthetically pleasing. Especially if I’m on a vacation and I want to enjoy myself.

3- The food quality and the ratings from previous costumers. It is very important to me to read many reviews before deciding.

4- The variety of options on menu.

5- The service. This is also based on reading the reviews.

6- The price. Usually price is the first in mind when deciding where to eat, but here it came last because again, I’m on vacation and I want to treat myself.

The process of searching and finding a restaurant was enjoyable and easy. That is because I usually know what I want and what I like & dislike. Also, Salt Lake City is a small city. So It is not hard to find a fancy Italian Restaurant to my likings.