The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic is directly affecting the foodservice industry, especially stores focused mostly on face-to-face service. This study examined the relationships between coping with hygiene in the COVID-19 situation and the perceptions of service quality by the restaurant customers. From April to June 2020, two online scenario-based surveys and one offline experience-based survey were conducted for customers visiting student-run restaurant and cafés (SRRCs) according to the context-specific characteristics: a basic-level task scenario to improve SRRC operation in the COVID-19 (BS), an SRRC coping with hygiene scenario in the COVID-19 using a short video-clip demonstration (HS), and real experience with the hygiene responses of an SRRC in the COVID-19 limitedly performed with customers who visited the SRRC (RE). All 226 subjects (BS＝89, HS＝91, RE＝46) answered the same questionnaire about food quality, hygiene service quality, and SRRC attributes, and revisit intention. The scores of food quality (6 out of 6), hygiene service quality (6 out of 6), and SRRC attributes (4 out of 6) were greater in the HS and RE than the BS. Significant differences rarely existed between the HS and RE. The score for revisit intention was the highest in the HS or RE (2 out of 3). These results suggest that realistic scenario-based information provided in the HS may positively affect the psychological perceptions of customers, and the magnitude of change was similar to the RE by direct observation with the provision of quarantine supplies and actual prevention. This study will help restaurant industry managers cope with unexpected situations, such as COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19, food service, hygiene, perception, scenario-based research