Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Maria's Ristorante

Weiss, Elliott N.,...

Case

Maria's Ristorante

Weiss, Elliott N.; Maiden, Stephen E.

OM-1536 | Published May 28, 2015 | 6 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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Product Details

In an effort to save his business, Paul Marciano, the owner of Italian family restaurant Maria's Ristorante, runs a number of experiments focused on improving the customer experience around his target customer segment. These experiments lead to a better understanding about his business and cause him to make specific changes to his business model that ultimately improve things across the board. The experiments are based on research from the academic literature on the use of behavioral variables to manage customer perceptions.

The case addresses restaurant service design issues and how behavioral economics inform these design decisions for the service offering. The case can lead to a rich discussion of the relative importance and ethics of real changes versus perceived changes in the service offering of a restaurant.