Is a Long Line Outside Your Restaurant, Nightclub, or Bar Helping or Hurting Your Business?

To address the problems of reneging from, and balking at, queue lines, academics studying operations management have used queueing theory — the mathematical study of waiting in lines.

Starting with European sociologist A.K. Erlang in the early 20th century, scientists constructed mathematical models to predict wait times and developed theories and processes for how to reduce them, in particular by shortening queue lines. This research suggests that a busy tavern that wants to retain customers should take steps to shorten lines and remove bottlenecks, such as hiring more door persons, hosts, and bartenders, and reducing the number of steps needed to process a customer request.

Much of the early queueing theory was focused in this fashion on identifying the operational changes that would result in more efficient waits. However, it was not until the 1950s that researchers began to realize that efficiency of queues was not the only factor influencing people's experience while waiting.

Around 1950, a building manager of a Manhattan high-rise was hit with hundreds of complaints regarding the time people waited for the building's elevators during peak hours — when people arrived in the morning, went to lunch, and left at the end of the day. The building's engineers looked into the possibility of speeding up the elevator service, but determined that to be impossible. Someone then suggested that perhaps the problem was not the wait times, but that those who were waiting were getting bored just standing in line with nothing to do. Not wanting to lose their tenants, the building manager installed floor-to-ceiling mirrors around the elevators that enabled waiting passengers to look at themselves and others while they waited for the lift. Complaints dropped to zero.

Mounting empirical evidence indicated to sociologists that there are far more subtle factors than the time spent waiting that contribute to a positive or negative experience, including ideas of fairness, the management of expectations, and the subjective — and inaccurate — way that humans perceive time. As many studies have since pointed out, it is often the way that people feel about their time in line that is more important than the duration they spent waiting.

Two powerful tools have been used effectively to influence the perception of waiting customers: the use of distraction (engaging the customer in an alternate activity so the wait seems faster) and the effective management of expectations (providing the customer with information about how long they will be waiting).

The former — at times taking the form of mirrors outside the elevator, magazines in the waiting room, or televisions in the queue line — is a simple and effective method for making waiting more pleasurable. According to MIT's Richard Larson, Disney is probably the most successful example in the history of queue management to date, demonstrating steadily increasing visitor counts year over year despite perpetually increasing wait times for their attractions. Disney has seemingly mastered the art of queue creation and the use of distraction, setting up vivid, engaging, and entertaining queues that build anticipation for the attraction and convince parents to stand in line for an hour to enjoy a four-minute ride.

The second tool that Disney utilizes to influence the perception of the wait is to provide information about waiting expectations, usually at the entrance to an attraction. Additionally, Disney has a policy to overestimate the wait time so that customers who were quoted a wait of one hour for Space Mountain are pleasantly surprised when they only had to wait 45 minutes.

Studies have shown that providing information about the wait goes a long way to reducing anxiety and stress from uncertainty, common problems associated with waiting in line. As the Disney example demonstrates, consumers that have information about what to expect from a queue are less likely to balk or renege.

Maybe the most basic question about queueing theory is: why do people wait in line at all?

As it turns out, lines — even long ones — are not necessarily all bad. Lines contain and convey information. They point to something worth waiting for at the end, something that 'people in the know' recognize and are willing to wait for.

The willingness of people to wait for what they want is especially familiar in the restaurant and bar industry. It is not uncommon for the best burrito place in town to have a line of gourmands that wraps around the building. Popular nightspots in big cities are famous for their excruciating waits — the longer the line gets, the more interest people seem to have to go there, making the lines even longer. Popular and trendy eateries with new imported dishes can have a cult following, whether it is bacon-topped donuts in Boston or ramen burgers in New York. People vote with their feet and will line up for what they want.

But why are people willing to wait in such long lines? One explanation is psychology: when something is perceived to be scarce, it is often perceived to be more valuable. People will wait in line for a good or service because they perceive it to be of superior quality and 'worth the wait.'

Additionally, studies show that people tend to learn from the behavior of others, drawing conclusions and perceptions of value based on others' experiences. When it comes to lines, the experts are those higher in the queue, and people will often join a line because others that are 'in the know' are queueing.

The psychology of 'observing people in the know' is especially prevalent in the restaurant industry. Seeing a line, or customers in an establishment, often conveys information about quality and desirability. Research shows that people tend to avoid establishments with no lines or customers, despite the potential to miss out on experiencing high-quality products or services.

Nonetheless, it is more complicated than the simple idea that if there is a line, people will stand in it. Studies have shown that there is a certain 'critical length' for queue lines at which point they become alluring to consumers. Nightclubs are infamous for employing this psychological trick to generate 'hype' — many clubs have long been in the practice of artificially inflating their lines as a means of attracting curiosity. It is not unusual to see dozens of people lined up to cross a velvet rope while the inside of the club is well below capacity, remaining functionally empty.

While there is little doubt among queueing theorists that a 'critical length' exists at which point people become interested in joining a particular queue, studies have shown that the factors that contribute to a queue reaching its critical length depend on more than just the length of the line. A number of external, difficult-to-control conditions influence consumer decision-making when it comes to queueing up, including the type of establishment, the location, the weather, the clientele in the queue, the time of day, the surrounding businesses, the availability of parking, the expectations of service, and a host of other complex and interactive factors.

Because of these complexities, establishments that attempt to use queue length as a psychological tactic to draw in business — by artificially inflating their queue — are prone to mismanaging consumer expectations. In a bait-and-switch fashion, this can upturn the customer's expectations upon entry, leading them to conclude that the wait was inefficient, unnecessary, and that the establishment has poor customer service. Add 'supreme-excellence' prices for drinks and food, and whatever value perception created with the queue quickly goes out the window — and with it the chance to retain that customer.

Surveys have shown that guests tend to remember the latter parts of their waiting experience more so than the initial minutes. When a wait is perceived to be unfair or inefficient in the end — or worse, a totally pointless ruse — guests tend to remember this as an overall poor experience, and will not return.

The corporate restaurant and bar industry has been acutely aware of the relationship between perceived wait and customer retention, and has for some time taken steps to analyze waitlist performance to improve customer service.

Restaurant conglomerates such as Brinker International (owners of Chili's and Maggiano's) and Darden Restaurants (owners of Olive Garden, Yard House, and Capital Grille) prioritize questions about the customer's experience while waiting on their Customer Satisfaction Surveys (CSS) — those long receipts inviting you to call a number or go online to describe your dining experience in exchange for a discount on your next meal.

In Olive Garden's CSS, for example, the first three questions are dedicated to understanding the customer's experience before they even sit down to eat — the wait:

'If you waited for dining room seating, approximately how long did you wait after arriving at the restaurant?'

'How accurate was the wait time the lobby staff quoted you?'

'Approximately how much longer than the quoted time did you wait to be seated?'

CSS from other restaurants are similar, demonstrating that corporate restaurants prioritize understanding how long their guests are waiting as well as the accuracy of quoted wait times. For these national brands, this information informs not only operational management but strategic decision-making for the implementation of protocols or digital systems to affect guest experience.

Consumers tend to patronize businesses that appear busy over those that are empty. When queue lines on the outside of establishments reach a 'critical length,' the line itself encourages more people to join in search of 'something good at the end,' because a line, like a business that is full of patrons, conveys a message of quality.

So that means having a line is a good thing, right? Wrong.

Even though lines can draw prospective patrons, studies show that customers remember the latter moments, rather than the beginning, of their wait — especially what happens once they get inside. The customer service they experience after their wait can override the influence of the wait itself. It is extremely important to convey to customers, through goods and services and customer service, that it was all 'worth the wait.' For businesses that fail to deliver on those expectations, severe consequences to customer retention and long-term revenue can be expected.

Establishments that artificially inflate their exterior queues to attract more customers, but maintain their interior as functionally empty, run the risk of breaching their patrons' expectations for quality — thus discouraging them from returning.

On the other hand, some venues — like the notorious Studio 54 in New York — have lines wrapping around the building because the venue is operating at maximum occupancy. In this case, it is impossible to let any more patrons in without violating local fire code and licensing regulations, so a line is inevitable. Still, even when the venue is not hurting for business, a line can damage customer retention when it is too long or inefficient. Guests will either balk at lines that appear too long, or renege when wait times exceed expectations. In both cases, customers are left with the impression that the establishment is not prepared to handle their business, or that it does not value their time.

Thus, even when you are overflowing with business, a line can have negative consequences for customer acquisition or retention.

Lines are not great, especially if they are inefficient and waste your customers' time. Reducing wait times and making queue lines more efficient is of primary concern for businesses that are interested in providing excellent customer service and driving repeat business.

The first thing to consider when evaluating queues and wait times is to determine exactly what it is that patrons are queueing for, and focus massive attention on ensuring the quality of that experience. If you are a restaurant, that might mean focusing on food and drink quality. If you are a nightclub, it might mean focusing on guest experience, customer service, and pricing. Paying attention to the primary business and delivering on customer expectations goes a long way for building a business over the long term.

Next, focus should fall on identifying and eliminating bottlenecks that affect the delivery of the primary draw for customers. Managers should study all internal business processes, determine where inefficiencies occur, develop solutions, implement new procedures, and evaluate outcomes.

Staff optimization is also key to successful reduction of wait times. In the restaurant business, more staff is always better than fewer staff during peak hours. Sometimes this means staffing more employees during busy hours, managing employee turnover, or utilizing automated systems for scheduling and staffing.

Training is extremely important when it comes to reducing wait times and making the wait as efficient as possible. Train, train, and retrain your staff on the appropriate procedures for greeting guests, quoting wait times, and managing queue lines. Look for ways to reduce wait times at choke points by optimizing customer flow-through.

Lastly, consider implementing an automated waitlist solution for the venue. Designed to work on desktop computers and mobile devices, wait management systems can handle everything from quoting wait times, SMS paging of waiting guests, to-go ordering, staff communication, guest counters, and increasing table turns.