Masayuki Kirsch

Assignment D

As someone who has visited Salt Lake City, I can truly immerse myself in this scenario, as restaurants within the metro area have distinct attributes. As I had just landed at the airport in Salt Lake City, I found myself craving some Italian food, Which is my favorite dish. Though Salt Lake City is not known for its Italian restaurants, I must find the most authentic and appealing restaurant possible.

I know now what I want to eat, so the next immediate practical step for me is to search for restaurants within the vicinity I am currently within. Using applications on the Internet will help me maximize my time much more effectively. After a long flight, it was only fitting for me to feel lazy, as I had just landed in my new home city for the first time. I desire to go to a casual restaurant as being on a cramp Flight has made me tense, and preparing to dress and become so formal would not relieve such tension. I prefer something quick and easy when ordering food. Delivery was not an option as I am more siding to going out and socializing after being derived from it. I expect most Italian restaurants within the city to have similar menus and options. A crucial factor for me when deciding where to eat, Is its environment and how crowded and busy that restaurant is. Money is not an issue, and I have no price threshold. I don’t believe the money would be an issue in this scenario, as I will likely dine at a casual restaurant. 

Stanza Italian Bistro & Wine Bar caught my attention due to its sheer name. Wine would ease me up, along with some delicious food. This restaurant was found through Google and many filters, mainly “Cozy” and “Italian.” The restaurant has 731 reviews and 4.4 stars on Google. Reading Google reviews hopefully ensures the authenticity of these reviews, and to my expectations, they were good. The most common word used was comfortable and delicious. Judging by the photos, the formality was fitting for me. The only issue that I found was the open hours that the restaurant had, as it closes at 9 pm. I don’t have much time to spare, so I must find an alternative in case it becomes too busy and the closing hours genuinely become an issue.

Settebello Napoletana also caught my attention, and I found it a great alternative. This restaurant had twice as many reviews as the last option and a better overall score. The photos posted on the website seemed very casual and soothing to my taste. What stood out to me was the hours that the restaurant closes and opens, giving me more time to enjoy my food and chat with those I want to eat with. 

As time was winding down, I finally settled and chose Settebello Napoletana, the reason being the more lengthy time frame I have to dine, as the Bistro would feel very anxious as I would be more inclined to eat faster and leave as soon as possible. I ordered their delicious Misto Insalata and Margherita pizza, which cost around 25$. The meal was delicious, the atmosphere was vibrant, and I could connect with the new city I was residing in. I am very satisfied with my decision and will continue the same process to fill my pleasure up when seeking somewhere to dine.

I recently moved to Salt Lake City, Utah after I sorted out my things and settled well in the hotel, I realized that the long trip had completely exhausted me and I needed to eat. I wanted something Italian because I was watching a movie about Italians on a plane.

So I started my search in Google, I didn’t find anything good there, the reviews were not ambiguous, so I went to the Tripadviser website, I used it more than once and it always helped me out. I wanted to choose the best Italian restaurant that would meet my requirements, which were such I wanted it to be quiet and cozy, I also wanted an institution in which I would most likely not meet noisy people or children from whom I would be distracted from the noise. And after a long enough search, I reduced my choice to 2 establishments. The first of which is Walter’s Osteria, the food there is wonderful and the prices are quite high, which may indicate that I will not meet children or teenagers who would make noise. The second place I liked was Cucina Toscana, which is also not cheap there, so the issue with noisy children was resolved because I had a lot of money with me, I could afford a restaurant with an average check of 4 digits.

To choose one of the two restaurants, I relied on several criteria besides the price because there was a lot of money. First of all, I wanted to immerse myself in the atmosphere of relaxation, but I didn’t want to order food to the hotel because takeaway food is not as pleasant as the food you eat in a restaurant. The second criterion is good service. I wanted to get good service and for this I read reviews for these 2 places. The third criterion was my favorite Italian pasta food, In both restaurants there was a choice to eat pasta, but according to the reviews, I thought more that in Walter’s Osteria pasta was better because there were more reviews and more positive comments about it about the service about everything that interested me. Therefore, I decided that I want to go there. I went there by taxi and ate a great pasta that is not inferior in any way and in some places surpasses pasta in Italian restaurants. After eating this pasta, I left a big tip and went to the hotel by taxi.

And since I am a consumer, I have gone through all the stages that were
(1) need recognition I felt hungry and realized the need to go and eat.
(2) information search I started the search with establishments I started the search with those that I don’t like and narrowed their circle to see reviews on them.

(3) evaluation of alternatives I compared the 2 best restaurants in my opinion and for the final decision I looked at the reviews of the food I was going to order.
(4) purchase I went there and had a delicious meal (I am sure that the pasta there is the best as I conducted a large review of the reviews and looked at the photos of the dishes on the menu myself)
(5) post-purchase behavior After eating deliciously, I left a tip as a consumer who liked everything, I will definitely recommend it to my friends and leave positive feedback so that they can help the next person in choosing an institution.

There are many cities known for their delicious food, and Salt Lake City, Utah is definitely one of them. After doing some research on the best Italian food in the area I found quite a few options. 

While considering restaurants I had to be sure there were no-meat options. It was not a big problem since all Italian restaurants serve vegetarian dishes. 

When I order food, I like something quick and easy. I don’t mind picking up my order but sometimes I prefer having it delivered. While exploring some restaurants in Salt Lake City, there were many restaurants that offered both. Another requirement I have when getting my food delivered, I prefer to not spend too much money since I don’t get the full experience. I am generally not picky with what I eat, and I am open to anything, except for meat of course.

One restaurant that caught my eye was The Old Spaghetti Factory. I found this restaurant by searching up the best, most reasonably priced Italian food “near me” and this was the first result. The restaurant has 2.9K reviews and 4.3 stars on Google. I started by reading Google reviews and they were pretty good. Most customers described the food as delicious and authentic. I found the prices to be okay since many reviews said the portions are very generous. They deliver on almost any app and are open for pickup. However, after digging deeper several people found inconsistencies with food quality, which ultimately was the deal breaker for me. I appreciate consistency and dislike getting my food worse than it was “last time.”  

Valter’s Oateria is another restaurant that instantly popped up and was reviewed by many blogs. The pictures of the food made my mouth water. The food was well presented and looked so tasty. They have 4.6 starts with an enormous amount of reviews, 2.6K. People on all different websites described it as fantastic, phenomenal, excellent and “HANDS DOWN the best restaurant.” The down side of this restaurant was the price. Although it is a fancy restaurant, I prefer not to spend a-lot of money on takeout. If I am spending that kind of money, I would rather a dine in experience. It was available for take out but not delivery. 

The last restaurant, and the one I chose as my favorite in Salt Lake City was Sicilia Pizza & Kitchen. I did some research on reasonable food and this looked like the most convenient one. It has 4.3 starts and over 800 reviews. People described it as fresh and consistent. I am amazed by the prices considering many restaurants were pricey especially when the delivery fee is involved. A  pizza was around $13 while the competitors were priced close to $30. It was available for delivery, pickup, and dine in. 

Imagining I moved to Salt lake city, the capital and most populous city of Utah and I want to order Italian takeout, I will start by doing research on the internet, my most used and preferred way to do research and specially searching for restaurants or food near me. The first restaurant I found was Caffe Molise. From reviewing the images, it looks spacious and expensive-looking, but it’s on the expensive side and has less varieties.The other restaurant was Stone Ground Italian kitchen. Although it has good reviews, the food did not look appetizing to me. The Italian food I’m looking for is mostly pasta, which I already like, and something in the middle of casual and fancy. I don’t really like to pick up food. I prefer cash on delivery because you don’t have to go outside and can order in the comfort of sitting at home, which is more convenient for me. My threshold is below 30$ because I’m trying a new restaurant and do not want to waste money if I don’t like the food.

Going through the motions of the first three stages, I was successfully able to recognize and define my problem, which was simply that I wanted to try Italian food from an Italian restaurant. My information search process happened through searching from the internet, and looking for the top restaurants and comparing different attributes of the restaurants i liked and didn’t like. Then, in the selecting decision, I finally chose the restaurant Osteria Amore. The reason for me choosing the restaurant was that the images from the customers I looked at on the internet of the food looked very appetizing to me. I loved the architecture of its building and the interior decor, this is usually my first impression of a restaurant and something that attracts me towards it. And it has 4.5/5 reviews, which is a bonus point.
As a consumer who had no knowledge of the area and restaurants, my honest opinion is that just searching restaurants on the internet and reading reviews cannot be enough for me to be satisfied by my decision of the restaurant i’m going to. I also prefer if my family or friends have been to the restaurant and tried the food. As a friend who has the same taste in food as me it can be really helpful if she has a positive or negative review. The popularity of the restaurant also affects my decision. If I’ve heard about it and seen an ad, I would be more likely to visit it, on the other hand, if I’ve never heard of the restaurant before, it can make me a little reluctant to try the food.

I was able to gather knowledge and information before just randomly going to any restaurant. I now know the information about the popular restaurants in my area, which is a benefit to me as a customer. After reading chapter 5 and knowing the process and stages involved in making consumer decisions, I became more aware and mindful of the process I was going through, because I knew the steps that I went through.

My preferences compared to the other consumers might be different because every individual has different perceptions and likes and dislikes. I believe other consumers, with an example of my friends that I have, prefer other sources of information like family or relative’s reviews and their personal knowledge before selecting a restaurant. Also some consumers are willing to take risks and try different restaurants, without gathering much information about them and are willing to spend a considerable amount of money.

I have just moved to a brand new city in Utah for a marketing opportunity. After my long day of unpacking and settling in I start to crave pasta. Not just any pasta but an authentic rich bowl of pasta . I immediately started my research on Google, searching for authentic and fancy Italian restaurants near me. I have decided to celebrate my big move with a delicious meal. 

My search is full of different options ranging from three to four dollar signs. As a consumer I trust Google’s top website recommendations and go on Saltplatecity.com article on ‘Best Italian Restaurants in Salt Lake City [Updated 2022]’. I am drawn to this article specifically for its current 2022 selection while being a website solely for restaurants in  Salt Lake City. As a consumer I like this website for its direct description of the restaurants and their contact information. This makes my choices clear and displayed nicely. I have decided between two restaurants, Veneto  Ristirante Italiano and Valter Osteria. Both restaurants have a multitude of reviews and the menus are full of great pasta selections.

In the end I decided on Veneto Ristirante after finding one of their reviews about the couple who owns the restaurant. The wife was born and raised in Salt Lake City while her Italian husband is from Verona, Italy. This review describes their journey opening their restaurant and their commitment of spreading Italian history, culture and traditions to Utah.  Not only do I know the food will be amazing but I feel excited to be supporting a small business who connect deeply to the culture of their food.

My journey as a consumer can be seen through the steps of the consumer-decision making process. I recognize my initial need for something to eat which would be my first step in ‘need recognition’. I then began researching with my specific wants in mind which categorizes in ‘information search’. I then chose Veneto Ristirante out of all my options, which falls into ‘evaluation of alternatives’. Unfortunately I am unable to make the final purchase of my wam delicious pasta, but If my research is correct I know my choice would have been the best choice. 

MAR100 – Assignment week D

Unit 5: Consumer Decision Making & Unit 6: Business Marketing.

The consumer decision-making process is a process that I am going through every day in my life, and I think that is very relevant to me and everyone daily. If I moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, and wanted to order Italian food for takeout, I would be going through the consumer decision process to choose the best fit for me. The first step of the need recognition is that I am looking for a good Italian restaurant that delivers the food to your address and has gluten-free pasta. For the second step of the information step, I would be searching on google for “the best Italian restaurants in Salt Lake City, Utah, gluten-free pasta with delivery”. Since it’s a new city and I don’t know who is making the food in these restaurants, I feel more comfortable relying on restaurants that are shown in articles as good restaurants and that people are writing good reviews on and recommend going to. I have celiac so I can only eat gluten-free pasta, so even if the restaurant is amazing but it doesn’t have gluten-free pasta I won’t consider the restaurant as an option. If I am ordering takeout, I only want it to be delivered to my home and not have to go out to get it especially since it’s a new city that I am not familiar with, so I searched for delivery only. For the third step of the evaluation of alternatives, I looked at the search results. In google, you can see next to each restaurant the stars that people rated the restaurant and the reviews that they have received. I found 3 restaurants that attracted my eye, and they are – Caffé Molise, Stanza Italian Bistro & Wine Bar, Tuccis Cucina Italiana. All these three restaurants are rated very high and have wonderful reviews. They all look clean, and the pictures of the food look very good and attractive. But one of them doesn’t deliver so it won’t be a good fit for me even though their food looks great, they have gluten-free pasta, and they are rated very high. It would be a good option for me on a day that I want to go out to sit at a restaurant for dinner. So Stanza Italian Bistro & Wine Bar is going off my options. Now both the restaurants are a good option for me, I am looking at the rates/prices and see which one of them has better prices. Caffé Molise is delivering and looks like a beautiful restaurant that I would like to go out to, but the prices there are a little bit more expensive and since I am not going to enjoy their service and atmosphere, it doesn’t worth it for me to pay the price if I can find the same gluten-free pasta that is as good in Tuccis Cucina Italiana that is also delivering. So, for my fourth step, I would choose Tuccis Cucina Italiana as my takeout Italian restaurant in Salt Lake City, Utah, for the good reviews and ratings, the delivery, the gluten-free pasta, and the price. The process was very easy for me. When I first move to Manhattan a year ago, I also didn’t know anything here and was looking for restaurants to order a delivery from. To find a restaurant in Salt Lake City, Utah I did same thing. I searched online for an Italian restaurant in this location and wrote my priorities in the search which were – the best restaurant, gluten-free pasta, and delivery. After I searched for my need, I evaluate my options, considering the Advantages and Disadvantages, and deciding which of the options is the best fit for me. When I was looking at the options of my search, I saw so many options and I had to decide relying on my opinion which one to consider as an option. I think that the consumer decision-making process is something that we do automatically when we have a need for something/problem because the first thing I did when I read the assignment was to think about my needs and my preferences in this situation and research it online. We do this every day without even noticing, marketing is such a big part of our life. My preferences would probably be different from other people in the same situation since I’m searching for the best Italian restaurant and looking specifically for gluten-free pasta. It might also be similar in terms of looking for delivery only since we are new in the city and prefer to get the food straight home and not get lost. I think that the stages in the consumer decision-making process are the same for everyone, but the result of the decision will be different most of the time since each person is different and has different needs, and preferences while making a decision. Depends on his knowledge, personality, and traditions.

I just moved to Salt Lake City, Utah and I am looking for some Italian Restaurants that have this popular meal I have seen on TikTok! It’s called Spaghetti Pomodoro. I’m looking for a classy, elegant fancy Restaurant to reward my self on my new move. I am willing to pick up the food so while I drive there, I can begin to familiarize myself with the area. I am looking for an Italian Restaurant that offers some great affordable food deals, and specials because I love to save if I am able too. I’m also enjoy couponing.

Some of the motions that I will take in my decision-making process is to see what Italian Restaurant in the most reasonable distance away from me, how many stars do they have, what are the reviews like, what’s the menu options, what are the prices like, how is cleanliness, and how is the aesthetic. So far, the quality restaurants that I am weighing amongst are restaurant Carmine’s and Restaurant VENETO Ristorante Italiano. While VENETO has a better aesthetic and offers specialties. Carmine’s serves a bigger portion of food and has amazing desserts for my sweet tooth.

I have decided I am going to choose to order from Carmine’s because I’ll be saving more money purchasing there than VENETO. VENTO has specialties but they are still expensive and it’s a very small portion of food not even a child would be full of. Carmine’s is closer drive and has amazing reviews. While they are both great Restaurants. Carmine’s is of my best personal convenience across the board.

As a consumer of having know knowledge of the area researching can fill very risky especially in a new place. It is easy to feel very indecisive about your options. I started doing my research by googling information about these restaurant’s, looking at images, videos and reviews to help me decide. I might ultimately consider Cucina Toscana the food looks delicious. My preference might compare to other consumers who like to know about where they’ll be eating from before they take a risk on their money.

Some of the best Italian Restaurants in Salt Lake City are Caffe Molise, Stanza,Stoneground Kitchen and Bartolo’s. These restaurants appeal to me because of how clean and decorated they are. When I go out to eat at restaurants, I look for a nice, fancy-looking restaurant. I am a picky eater. I do not eat Italian food. I have never had Italian food, but if I was to try Italian food, I would look for something that is casual, not too much. I would pick up my food because I would want to sit down and eat and experience the different lifestyle over there. My price threshold would be $50. This is simply because I am trying new food, and if I do not like it, I do not want to waste more than $50 on food. Also, I wouldn’t order a lot of food, I would order something casual. The restaurant I picked was Caffe Molise as a part of the fourth stage of the consumer decision-making process because Caffe Molise had recognition. Caffe Molise is one of the best Italian restaurants in Salt Lake City. This restaurant also has 4.5/5 stars on Google reviews, which means they receive good feedback. Caffe Molise has  information search because this is one of the best restaurants in town, so if you are looking for an Italian restaurant in Salt Lake City, this restaurant will be one of the options. Caffe Molise has evaluated alternatives to fulfill all customers’ needs and wants. Lastly, for purchase, this restaurant has affordable prices for people to come in and eat and enjoy their time being. What this process was like as a consumer who otherwise had no knowledge of the area and/or had not seen targeted ads about the restaurants I am researching in this metropolitan area (Salt Lake City, Utah) was not really beneficial to me because I do not eat Italian food, so I will most likely never come eat here and also I have never been to Salt Lake City, but it was good information and I learned new things. How I started doing research was that I first searched for Italian restaurants in Salt Lake City, and looked for a restaurant that looked the best and most appealing to me. The restaurants that I found that I would ultimately consider are Caffe Molise, Stanza,Stoneground Kitchen and Bartolo’s. My  preferences compare to other consumers because many people are probably just like me, a picky eater, who has never eaten Italian food, researching Italian Restaurants in Salt Lake City.