Ong Jia Hui is proposing a research study titled "Impact of Crowding in an Eatery" for her Bachelor of Science in Architecture course. The study aims to investigate how crowding affects diners' perceptions of eateries and dining experiences. Crowding can be viewed positively if it suggests good food, but it can also be viewed negatively if it causes noise or a lack of privacy. The research will use observations, interviews, and literature reviews to understand if diners prefer crowded or uncrowded eateries and how managers can control crowding levels to improve customer satisfaction.

1. Name : Ong Jia Hui
Student ID : 0317752
Module : Food and Culture
Course : Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Architecture | Semester 5
Research Proposal Title : Impact of Crowding in an Eatery
Main Research Question : How does a crowded eatery affect the perception of diners
towards the eatery and their dining experiences?
In this fast paced and competitive era where restaurants and hawkers alike are emerging
rapidly, the taste, price and presentation of food are deemed as vital aspects in determining
the value of an eatery. Nevertheless, the density of crowd plays a crucial role as well in
determining the perception of diners towards an eatery, which in turn will affect their
satisfaction and return rate. Hence, the aim of this research proposal is to investigate how
does a crowded eatery affect the perception of diners towards the eatery and their dining
experiences?
Density of crowd can be perceived as traits from both ends of the spectrum; it can either be
well received and ripen into a positive phenomenon, or emerge as a negative dining
experiences for the diners. Most, if not all consumers evaluate the worth of an eatery based
on the amount and density of diners present in the eatery, where more diners portray and
illustrate the image of better food quality; will that heighten the expectation of diners towards
the quality of the food or just utter disappointment? On the other hand, high density of crowd
could also bring forth negative impression as it would have meant a louder dining environment
which could jeopardize a supposedly pleasant dining experience. If that is the case, how would
people react to it, and does it really matter to Malaysians that exalt local delicacies? As the
hypothetical perception could be of polar ends, hence, the objective of the research proposal
is to find out if a crowded eatery is perceived as a positive or negative phenomenon by diners.
In addition to that, a crowded eatery will affect the diners’ uses of space and dining
experiences in both ways as well. Due to high density of crowd, some diners would opt to

2. share a table with strangers to reduce the time spent on table waiting. However, some would
identify this as a negative episode as this would suggest lesser privacy and even spatial
intrusion, which would bring forth what Mehrabian and Russell (1974) call “avoidance
behaviour”. Despite so, why are diners still sharing tables?
This study is significant in a way as it strives to find out and understand if a crowded or less
crowded eatery is preferred by diners, as this would provide an insight to restaurant managers
on whether to control the density of crowd in their eatery through various means such as
limiting the number of tables.
The choice, taste and price of food posed as limitations to the study as it is a subjective
preference and varies from one person to another. The methodology proposed for this
research would be observations, interviews and literature. The body language, mood and
reactions of diners at a crowded and less crowded eatery will be observed, followed up by
interviews. Meanwhile, literature will be done through readings of related scholarly studies,
articles, and reviews posted by patrons on the internet.
There is a myriad of studies that focus on the influence of ambience on diners’ behaviour, but
only a few truly explore the influences and impact of crowding in an eatery. It has been noted
that in general, crowdedness represents one of the important environmental factors which
would affect customers’ retail experience (Eroglu, Machleit & Mantel, 2000). The proposed
study serves as an aid so that managers of eateries can find appropriate ways to tackle the
issue and improve diners’ satisfaction which will indirectly increase and boost profits.

3. References:
1. A crowded restaurant is good and bad. here's why. (2015, July 23). Retrieved May
15, 2017, from http://www.casafekra.com/blog/inspirations-newsletter/crowding/
2. Braun, A. (2014, March 31). Alone Together: The Return of Communal Restaurant
Tables. Retrieved May 11, 2017, from
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/03/alone-together-the-return-of-
communal-restaurant-tables/284481/
3. Jin, Q. (2015, August 02). A Research Proposal: The Effects of Restaurant
Environment on Consumer Behavior. Retrieved May 10, 2017, from
http://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=mba_stude
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4. Rector, S. (2010, March 02). Don’t sit too close: Space between tables can make or
break a restaurant experience. Retrieved May 11, 2017, from
http://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/dont-sit-too-close-space-between-tables-
can-make-or-break-a-restaurant-experience/
5. Robson, S. K. A., Kimes, S. E., Becker, F. D., & Evans, G. W. (2011). Consumer
responses to table spacing in restaurants [Electronic version]. Cornell Hospitality
Quarterly, 52(3), 253-264. Retrieved May 10, 2017, from Cornell University, School
of Hospitality Administration site: http://scholarship.sha.cornell.edu/articles/126/