By simply changing the atmosphere or physical environment of their businesses, restaurant owners have the ability to increase customer satisfaction and even stimulate patrons’ appetites.

Warm colors, particularly orange, have been proven to stimulate customer appetites, said Ann Fiore, professor of apparel education studies and hospitality management.

“Think about the color of fast food restaurants,” said Fiore. “They use warm yellow, orange, red colors.”

In contrast, some colors used in restaurant décor have the ability to suppress appetite. These adverse interior colors can also cross over to unappetizing food colors. Blue and black foods are said to be the least appealing dishes since there are very few foods that are naturally black and blue.

“Researchers have dyed food blue – think blue pasta – and it makes subjects feel ill and unwilling to eat it,” Fiore said.

Deanne Brocato, assistant professor of marketing, recently conducted research with others across the country to see how a business’ physical environment can affect a customer’s perception of satisfaction.

“We noticed that people have to wait in certain businesses,” Brocato said, whose research spanned across restaurants, hair salons and banks.

Since many businesses don’t have the resources or space to expand their physical environments to decrease customer waiting time, Brocato’s research focused on decreasing customer perception of wait time.

“We wanted to understand ways businesses, managers and marketers could increase customer satisfaction without differing wait times,” Brocato said.

A random sample of 360 people in “two large Southwest cities who had recently visited restaurants” was surveyed, with those surveyed rating their experiences based on scaled questions focused on their perceptions of wait time and appreciation of the restaurants’ physical environments and aesthetics, Brocato said.

“If they liked their physical environment, their dissatisfaction and disgruntledness lowered, [which in turn lowered their] perceived wait time,” Brocato said.

The study’s findings are under review, and Brocato hopes her work will soon be published in an academic journal.

“Different customers are looking for different experiences from a restaurant, which the multi-sensory aspects of the setting help create,” Fiore said.

“Some customers go to a restaurant to relax and unwind, whereas others go for a stimulating experience.”

Changing the environment in a restaurant can be as simple as changing the overhead music or its volume.

“Music has a big effect on how we perceive the passage of time,” Fiore said. “Pleasant music can make the wait seem shorter.”

To produce a soothing setting, restaurants can create low-volume background music and low noise levels by using sound-absorbing décor like tablecloths and carpet, Fiore said. A stimulating experience can be created through Higher-volume music and higher noise levels can be created by furnishing an area with hardwood floors and metal tables that reflect sound, making for a more stimulating experience.

Entertainment can also change customers’ perceptions of time.

“Anything that entertains the customer can be helpful to make the wait seem shorter,” Fiore said. “Interesting memorabilia, water features or TVs, for instance, can provide entertainment.”

B. Joseph Pine and James Gilmore, co-authors of “The Experience Economy: Work is Theatre & Every Business a Stage,” a book focused on the theory of increased customer satisfaction, wrote that business owners create an experience for a customer, rather than just producing a good or service. One of their “4 E’s of Experience Economy” is the idea of a business creating a distinctive aesthetic experience.

“Think about Starbucks. The environment is what leads people to pay more for a cup of coffee – and this is coffee which many have said does not taste as good as other brands in taste tests,” Fiore said.

“Having good food is no longer enough for today’s customer,” Fiore said, citing Starbucks’ frequent use of “richer woods, brushed metal surfaces and more interesting architectural structures.”

“[Customers] are looking for unique, memorable design,” Fiore said.