16 minutes – average patience of UK consumers
UK diners will wait an average of just under 16 minutes before leaving a restaurant after not being served, new research reveals. On the other hand, caffeine-craving Britons will be more patient waiting for a coffee than waiting for a sandwich (6 minutes and 2 seconds versus 5 minutes and 34 seconds).
Print11 April 2014
When ordering a drink, men will go off to slake their thirst elsewhere after 7 minutes and 8 seconds where females will wait 8 minutes and 23 seconds.
These average waiting times result from a survey of 5,000 UK consumers conducted by Peach Factory on behalf of global retail technology provider Omnico Group as part of a study into the effect of waiting times on hospitality businesses across the UK.
The data also shows that UK consumers like their fast food, as the title suggests, served fast. Diners on average are only willing to wait 6 minutes 18 seconds without being served at fast food chains such as McDonald’s and Subway. Pubs offering food such as Wetherspoons or Harvester need to be quick too, with customers only happy to wait an average of 12 minutes 27 seconds without being served, before going elsewhere.
When ordering drinks at the bar, Britons are willing to linger up to 7 minutes and 51 seconds before giving up.
Women are far more enduring than men when waiting for any kind of food or drink, patiently beating men in every single outlet type. When eating in a pub, women will wait 13 minutes and 15 seconds where males will only linger for 11 minutes and 33 seconds. When ordering a drink, men will go off to slake their thirst elsewhere after 7 minutes and 8 seconds where females will wait 8 minutes and 23 seconds.
When eating out at restaurants, on average, women are happy to wait up to 16 minutes and 19 seconds with men only wanting to hang around for 14 minutes and 49 seconds.
“Whether diners are waiting to be seated, looking for the waiter to take their order or simply in a queue, they have a limit,” commented Chief Technology Officer at Omnico Group Steve Thomas, “Sixteen minutes might seem a long time for hospitality outlets to leave their patrons waiting but in reality it’s no time at all and a lengthy wait can impact loyalty and customer experience. Speedy service aided by innovative technology such as mobile Point of Sale can help to bust these queues, reduce waiting times and ensure customers are getting the best dining experience.”
Omnico delivers queue-busting mobile POS technology with leading hospitality chains including YO! Sushi. By supplying YO! Sushi with mobile POS, Omnico helped increase order efficiency & tracking as well as streamline the payment process by 30 seconds per customer. Mobile POS has the potential to cut waiting time in hospitality chains and ensure customers aren’t left hanging and – by extension – abandon their table.
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