The Use of Acceptable Customer Waiting Times for Capacity Management in a Multistage Restaurant [Summary]

Abstract

This study identified the threshold levels of long-term (table) and short-term (server and cook) resources that met the customers’ expectations based on the customers’ average acceptable waiting times. The actual restaurant’s performance, in terms of waiting times, was also examined. The identified threshold levels of resources confirmed that the current restaurant needs to adjust the number of cooks and the number of servers to meet the satisfactory and unsatisfactory waiting time standards. The number of cooks and servers need to be increased to meet the satisfactory waiting time goal. The number of cooks needs to be increased to be less than the unsatisfactory waiting time goal. When restaurant managers determine the acceptable waiting times based on customer expectations, they can allocate the resources necessary to meet the customers’ desired service standards. In this study, the threshold resource levels were used to evaluate the current system on how well a restaurant met the waiting time standards and the resource levels needed to meet the standards. According to the results, the impact of each resource on waiting time varied with the type of resource and the service stage. Thus, in adjusting resources to meet the waiting time standards, it is important to recognize the relationships between each resource and the service stages.

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