Ambience Stimuli, Customers’ Perceived Ambience, Service, Pleasure, and Satisfaction in Coffee Shops

Abstract

This study intends to evaluate the impacts of coffee-shop ambience and service as it relates to customer pleasure and satisfaction. It also attempts to investigate how variations in employing ambience stimuli such as lighting, music, and crowding might influence the customers’ ambience-perceptions. Data shows that several elements of coffee-shop ambience stimuli affect ambience perceptions. Lighting brightness of a medium or high intensity tends to produce greater positive perceptions of ambience compared to that of dimly lit locations. The level of positive ambience perception correlated with the order of high, medium, and low music volumes. The faster the music tempo, the greater the positive ambience perception. Higher crowding enhances positive ambience perception. Data also indicates that positive perceptions of ambience and service enhance the customers’ perceived pleasure. In addition, perceived pleasure increases customer satisfaction. Positive perception of coffee-shop service results in the direct effect of enhancing customer satisfaction, However, a direct impact of ambience perception on satisfaction is shown to be absent.