Moving to a new city is rough and having to learn where everything is must be very confusing. I am personally a very shy person, so I don’t think I would go to a fancy restaurant or any restaurant.

1. I recognize that I really want Italian cuisine, but I don’t know where anything is.
2. I now have to search for information. I googled “Italian restaurants in Salt Lake City.” I based my search on the first few restaurants google had for me because I was starving and wanted to get my food as soon as possible.
3. It is now time to narrow my search. My budget is around $50 ($60 if I’m feeling fancy). I just moved to a new city and I am not made of money, so any restaurant that has 3 or more dollar signs on it is immediately out. So that means: Stanza Italian Bistro & Wine Bar, Valter’s Osteria, Veneto Ristorante Italiano, and Cucina Toscana. Scrolling through the restaurants, I realize that I’m taking way too long and I feel even hungrier than I did before. So I decide to make my decision based on the descriptions of the restaurants. Any description that says the restaurant is fancy or makes it seem like it is, is immediately out. I’m not feeling very social. I’m feeling very attracted to the family and chain businesses. My goal is to get a very casual restaurant.
4. I have ultimately decided on Michaelangelo’s on Main. It has a 4.2 score on google so it seems like a very nice restaurant. The description didn’t say family or chain, but it said that it was casual. Since I just moved here, I want to make friends by going to a more casual area. Plus, I don’t really like fancy restaurants. Finally, my hunger is gone. I bought the chicken ravioli and the cannoli. It was delicious.
5. I enjoyed my meal.

As a consumer, this process was actually very familiar. I feel like we as consumers do research on places we want to go or things we want to buy and subconsciously partake in this process. Many people like doing their research on anything they buy because they are using their money on that purchase. They don’t want to feel any consumers’ remorse. They would feel like they wasted their money after they worked hard to earn it. It’s understandable because money doesn’t grow on trees. No one wants to have an unwanted purchase. This process felt like I really was doing my research and was actually finding something that was good for me rather than going based on what’s popular. I started doing my research by searching for Italian restaurants in Salt Lake City. There were so many to choose from. There are a few restaurants that I would consider. I would consider Michaelangelo’s on Main, The Old Spaghetti Factory, and Olive Garden Italian Restaurant. They suit my taste and what I am looking for in a restaurant. I realized that the consumer decision process was actually a lot easier than I expected. I could do this process right now if I wanted to. It’s really easy to apply to everyday life. My preferences might compare to other consumers because of my personality. I am more comfortable in a casual setting than I am in a fancy one. Another consumer may prefer a fancy setting and that could be the reason behind them choosing a completely different restaurant than I did. Also, they may have a higher budget than I do. They could be more comfortable spending more money than I am. Another thing is, they could’ve just liked another restaurant. Even if another consumer had the same requirements that I did, that doesn’t mean that we would’ve picked the same restaurants. They were a lot of different restaurants on the list, so, of course, they could’ve just gone with another option.