How ‘hurry up and wait’ can be good for hospitality businesses

The research, led by Associate Professor of Hospitality Management, Breffni Noone, found that the presence of a queue, such as waiting to be seated at a restaurant, can increase perceived brand popularity of the business among first-time customers. 

These findings have been published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Hospitality Management. 

According to the research team, the effect is enhanced when paired with a brand popularity statement from an outside organisation.  

‘Brand popularity statements’ convey widespread use of the brand. An example would be an independent review labelling the business as “most popular” within a given location, displayed on signage at the restaurant. 

“You do not always have to try to eliminate pre-process wait lines,” Noone explains. “In fact, it might benefit operators to have a visible wait line. The idea is that first-time consumers will see the line and think the restaurant is a popular spot. In turn, it will have a positive effect on the anticipation of the experience they are going to have.” 

The researchers conducted two studies to examine how wait times affect businesses. In the first, participants were shown pictures of a fictitious casual restaurant that either had or did not have a wait line or brand popularity statement. 

Help increase their perceived brand popularity 

“Restaurants, retail businesses, night clubs, bars and theme parks can use these findings to help increase their perceived brand popularity while also eliminating unnecessary costs that could be centred around minimising wait times,” Noone says.  

“It can be superb to have a wait line if you have a lot of first-time customers who use your facility.” 

To explore how the length of wait time could affect the perception of customers, the researchers conducted a second study. 

Like the first study, participants were shown pictures of a fictitious casual restaurant that either had or did not have a wait line or brand popularity statement. This time, however, participants were randomly assigned to lines with varying waiting times. 

The findings showed that customers were willing to wait 15 minutes for service before the positive effects of perceived brand popularity began to lessen due to waiting. The presence of a brand popularity statement softened this effect, however. 

“It can come down to whether the customer is time or price sensitive,” Noone observes. “Time-sensitive people may be attracted to the popularity of the line but do not want to wait in it. They want the privilege of going earlier in the line and thus purchase items – like a fast pass at a theme park – to jump ahead. Meanwhile, price-sensitive people will choose to wait in the lines for a longer amount of time.” 

If customers become frustrated after a long wait time, businesses would need to recover the customers’ trust during the time of service, such as providing exemplary service after a customer is seated at a restaurant, according to Noone. 

You can find out more about the study here.