The Effects of Offering Menu Information on Perceived Waiting Time

Abstract

This study employs an experimental design in a real restaurant setting to measure the effect of offering menu information on perceived waiting time. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to examine the effects of menu information as a method of distracting customers and reducing perceived waiting time. The test was conducted for 3 weeks under three manipulated conditions (i.e., music, no distraction, and offering menu information). The results of this study show that there are significant mean differences in three conditions in terms of the gap score between perceived and actual waiting time. The research findings are expected to provide restaurant managers with meaningful operational marketing strategies.

Assessing the effect of Waiting Time Management Strategies on Waiting Time Satisfaction among Bank Customers in Ghana

“…A review of the extant literature reveals that much of the research in waiting time phenomenon that affect banking institutions has been done in developed economies (e.g., Antonides et al, 2002;Bae and Kim, 2014;Bougoure et al, 2015;Gohary et al, 2016;Lee et al, 2012;Lerclec et al, 1995;Lin et al, 2015;Maher and Sobh, 2014;McQyuilken, 2017;Nadiri, 2016;Palawatta, 2015). There is very limited empirical research in the area of customer PWT in developing country banking context (e.g., Abbasi et al, 2013).…”

“…Subjective waiting is also called perceived waiting time because it is the time duration that the customer feels he/she has been waiting for the service (Bae and Kim, 2014). This study focuses on perceived waiting time because it has been found as critically important to customers and it can influence customer satisfaction more than actual waiting time in both marketplaces and marketspaces (online) (Lee et al, 2012).…”

“…Moreover, previous research has identified high-cost wait and low-cost wait situations (Cameron et al, 2003;Bae et al, 2014). High cost wait are situations in which the cost of wait to the customer is too high while low-cost wait are wait situations that are less expensive in times of money or other value to the customer.…”

“…In relation to the banking service context of this study, pre-process waiting occurs before approaching the counter in bank, in-process waiting during transaction execution at the banking hall, and post-process waiting during transaction completion by the staff of the bank or self-service by customer (Bae and Kim, 2014).…”

“…Waiting process could also be described in three stages as pre-process waits, in-process waits, and post-process waits (Bae and Kim, 2014;Taylor, 1994); A pre-process wait occurs before the customer is seated; an in-process wait occurs during order taking and during the meal; and a post-process wait occurs prior to receiving and paying the cheque (Taylor, 1994). In relation to the banking service context of this study, pre-process waiting occurs before approaching the counter in bank, in-process waiting during transaction execution at the banking hall, and post-process waiting during transaction completion by the staff of the bank or self-service by customer (Bae and Kim, 2014).…”