The number of parties a business serves in a stretch of time, such as parties per hour. Throughput is limited by the slowest step in service, and rises when turn time falls or more stations work in parallel.
The number of parties a business serves in a stretch of time, such as parties per hour. Throughput is limited by the slowest step in service, and rises when turn time falls or more stations work in parallel.
See also: Service rate, Bottleneck, Covers per hour, Turn time
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The wait time a business tells a party when they join a queue, given in minutes or as a time of day. It sets the party's expectation, and comparing it with the actual wait shows how accurate the quoting is.
The time that really passes between a party joining a queue and being called or seated. It is measured from the queue entry's join time to its called or seated time, and is the figure the quoted wait is judged against.
How closely actual waits match quoted waits, usually given as the share of parties called within a few minutes of their quote, or as the average gap between quote and actual. Parties forgive a long wait more readily than a wrong one.
One full use of a table, from seating a party to the table being cleared and ready for the next one. Table turnover is how many turns a table makes in a service period; more turns at the same check size means more covers and revenue.
The average time one party occupies a table, chair or station, from being seated or started to leaving. Turn time sets how fast a queue moves, so it is the main input to a wait-time estimate.