Discover Effective Ways to Minimise Waiting Times in Restaurants 

An industry report often quoted by several platforms mentioned that 7 out of 10 customers don’t want to follow through with their order if made to wait for more than 5 minutes. Unlike QSRs (Quick Service Restaurants) where the food is often assembled rather than cooked from scratch, when it comes to fine dining and freshly prepared meals 5-minute wait time is a tall order. This is why restaurants must strategies to reduce the overall service time by leveraging new-age solutions including Restaurant POS Systems and peripheral devices. However, there are more complex considerations to be made. 

Will Decreasing Actual Wait Time Using Restaurant Management Systems Suffice? 

 A 2022 study published in the Journal of Tourism, Hospitality & Culinary Arts made some eye-opening observations regarding wait time and customer satisfaction. Interestingly, these observations mentioned in the study titled, “Influence of quick-service restaurant’s service quality towards customer online review” resembled what we, at QPOS, had learnt intuitively, having helped countless food outlets of various scales set up comprehensive restaurant management systems. 

The study mentioned that any dissatisfaction arising from the time taken to be served often has less to do with the actual time spent between order and service. Instead, customer satisfaction regarding the service and wait times is closely related to the perceived wait time, i.e., how bored or unwelcoming the guests feel before they are served. Further, what this study revealed was not new information for the F&B industry; the observation mentioned above comes from yet another article, which dates as far back as 1996.  

All in all, waiting time may even have a negligible impact on a customer’s service satisfaction but what does matter is service quality and most importantly, the waiting environment. The restaurant’s ambience involves the look, feel, décor, and smell of the venue along with the entertainment options available. 

Given that the absolute wait time is as important as the perceived wait time, we need to explore: 

• How restaurant management systems curtail the absolute wait time 

• The role of restaurant technology in enhancing its ambience, ensuring optimum customer satisfaction, unaffected by time-to-serve 

Reducing Waiting Time with Restaurant Management Systems 

Here are a few restaurant management solutions that can help food outlets deal with the actual as well as the perceived wait time: 

• POS/Billing Terminals: An intuitive POS system helps the staff at the cash counter process orders swiftly. As soon as the order is finalized, a KOT (Kitchen Order Ticket) is instantly generated and sent to the kitchen staff. Hence, with an integrated restaurant management system, there is minimal manual intervention required between order-taking and KOT creation, ensuring that there are fewer instances of the wrong orders being served. 

 The total service time can be significantly reduced by avoiding order-taking mistakes. At the same time, as the KOT is directly sent to the kitchen, restaurant POS systems also help eateries save the time taken by the front-of-the-house staff to deliver the order ticket to the kitchen. 

 Another advantage of POS terminals is that they serve as an all-in-one platform for every process in the restaurant’s operations. Hence, when the restaurant receives orders from food delivery aggregators or receives table booking request from their website or any third-party application, then the manager can accept the requests and prioritise service based on the workload.  

• Self-service Kiosks: During peak hours, self-service kiosks can help manage the crowd at the cash counter, while also reducing the workload on the cashier by spreading the crowd across devices. Much like the POS terminal, the kiosk also creates an instant digital KOT, helping the kitchen staff hit the ground running, and thereby reducing the waiting time. 

• Thermal Printer: An easy-to-use and smooth-running thermal printer helps reduce billing time, thus contributing to faster-moving queues compared to its counterparts. 

Impact of Restaurant Management Solutions on Perceived Wait Time 

 Restaurant POS systems include billing terminals which come with a customer-facing display which can largely enhance the ordering experience. Based on the customer details and order history, if the POS has AI capabilities, the monitor can display the guest’s favourite dishes, thus improving the customer experience via personalised service. At the same time, ordering history can be leveraged to understand if the customer may be interested in trying another dish or a new dish on the menu, indicating that the restaurant has taken a keen interest in understanding the guest’s preference. In this manner, restaurant management systems help improve customer experience, making them more forgiving of any delays. 

 Additionally, food outlets should leverage kitchen displays to manage perceived waiting time. The device creates a transparent environment wherein the customer can see the number of orders the kitchen is busy with while remaining assured that they are being served on a first-come-first-serve basis. In such a scenario, guests are likely to sympathise with the kitchen staff if they delay the service time, thus positively influencing the customer experience even if the promised wait time is compromised. On the other hand, these displays can be rather useful in indicating to the customer how punctual the service is, if the actual wait time is less than or the same as the promised service time. 

 Managing Perceived Waiting Time Beyond Restaurant Management Solutions  

As restaurant technology saves employee labour on billing and order-taking, the staff has more time to interact with the guests, entertain them, and attend to their needs ─ offering the human touch that customers often find heartening when dining out. 

F&B players should also focus on curating attractive restaurant decor, music, and fragrances to elevate the waiting experience of their guests. Similarly, business owners should also consider restaurant entertainment elements such as pool tables, games, speed dating tables, dart boards, bookshelves, and television, among others. 

Enhanced Customer Experience ─ The Only Benefit of Restaurant Management Solutions? 

 Firstly, better customer experience implies a higher number of repeat customers. Further, by reducing the billing and waiting time, restaurants also may potentially be able to serve more customers per day than they would otherwise. Thus, restaurant tech solutions can help boost the revenue growth of the food outlet.  

 Looking For a Comprehensive Restaurant Management System? 

Over the years, QPOS has transformed several food outlets with the help of our range of state-of-the-art restaurant management solutions, including restaurant-specific POS terminals, programmable keyboards, thermal printers, and kitchen displays, among others. 

 Curious to know more? Contact our team experts today!