Fast feeders are top industry in 2007 Wait Time Study

DALLAS —Full-service restaurants slipped this year in their average wait times by more than a minute from their 2006 score and ranked sixth in service speed among the 10 industries gauged in the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s 2007 Wait Time Study.

Quick-service restaurants, living up to their name, earned the study’s No. 1 berth and beat out No. 2 drug stores on the basis of wait times, but came in fifth in the professional evaluators’ ranking of the likelihood of their return patronage of the 25 QSR brands visited. On the basis of “return ratios,” quick service as a category trailed the grocery stores that were evaluated, the 21-brand full-service restaurant category, department stores and banks. —Full-service restaurants slipped this year in their average wait times by more than a minute from their 2006 score and ranked sixth in service speed among the 10 industries gauged in the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s 2007 Wait Time Study.

The full-service chains scored an average 87.83-percent return rating, versus the quick-service chains’ collective 83.39-percent return ratio. —Full-service restaurants slipped this year in their average wait times by more than a minute from their 2006 score and ranked sixth in service speed among the 10 industries gauged in the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s 2007 Wait Time Study.

The MSPA’s study was based on more than 10,000 responses from mystery shoppers in 25 cities over a three-month period earlier this year, said MSPA executive director John Swinburn. —Full-service restaurants slipped this year in their average wait times by more than a minute from their 2006 score and ranked sixth in service speed among the 10 industries gauged in the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s 2007 Wait Time Study.

He said 2007 was the first year the Dallas-based MSPA had broken out wait times and likelihood-of-return ratios for specific restaurant chains. The 46 foodservice brands in the full- and quick-service camps were “selected based on national or significant regional penetration,” he said. —Full-service restaurants slipped this year in their average wait times by more than a minute from their 2006 score and ranked sixth in service speed among the 10 industries gauged in the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s 2007 Wait Time Study.

Among fast feeders, Quiznos Sub ranked No. 1, with a 1-minute, 15-second average score and a 100-percent return ratio, while White Castle, at 5 minutes and 47 seconds, came in last on the basis of wait time. The 25 QSR chains’ average was 3 minutes, 1 second. —Full-service restaurants slipped this year in their average wait times by more than a minute from their 2006 score and ranked sixth in service speed among the 10 industries gauged in the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s 2007 Wait Time Study.

However, White Castle was second to last on return ratio, at 60 percent, just ahead of Rally’s Hamburgers, at 50 percent, though the twin-lane drive-thru chain’s average wait time of 2 minutes, 46 seconds gave it a No. 8 ranking among the quick-service chains. —Full-service restaurants slipped this year in their average wait times by more than a minute from their 2006 score and ranked sixth in service speed among the 10 industries gauged in the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s 2007 Wait Time Study.

“A high return ratio indicates customers are satisfied with the wait time they received; a low return ratio indicates dissatisfaction,” Swinburn said. “The difference in wait time rank and return ratio reveals the correlation between shopper expectations versus actual experience.” —Full-service restaurants slipped this year in their average wait times by more than a minute from their 2006 score and ranked sixth in service speed among the 10 industries gauged in the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s 2007 Wait Time Study.

Wait TimesQUICK-SERVICE RESTAURANTS

Among full-service chains, El Torito, California Pizza Kitchen and Chevys Fresh Mex all had 100-percent return ratios, but they ranked third, sixth and seventh, respectively, on the basis of wait times that averaged 4 minutes and 21 seconds for all 21 chains in their category. Johnny Rockets ranked No. 1 on wait time, at 2 minutes, 22 seconds, but was assigned a 66.7-percent return ratio. Red Lobster was last among the 21 sit-down brands, at 7 minutes, 2 seconds, but garnered an 87.2-percent return ratio. Collectively, the full-service chains ranked just after No. 5 clothing stores, averaging 4 minutes, 11 seconds in wait times, and just ahead of department stores, at 4 minutes, 39 seconds. Nos. 2 through 4 overall in terms of wait times were drug stores, grocery stores and banks. The bottom three berths went to hardware stores, office-electronic stores and wireless-communications stores, whose 7-minute, 41-second score was worst of the 10 sectors. —Full-service restaurants slipped this year in their average wait times by more than a minute from their 2006 score and ranked sixth in service speed among the 10 industries gauged in the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s 2007 Wait Time Study.

The quick-service chains improved their average wait time by 15 seconds over their 2006 average of 3 minutes, 16 seconds, Swinburn indicated. But the full-service chains slowed down from last year by a full 1 minute, 7 seconds on average, he added. —Full-service restaurants slipped this year in their average wait times by more than a minute from their 2006 score and ranked sixth in service speed among the 10 industries gauged in the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s 2007 Wait Time Study.

Chuck Paul, a Mystery Shopping Providers Association board member and president of A Closer Look Inc. in Norcross, Ga., observed: “In today’s busy environment, most folks, particularly with kids, aren’t willing to frequent a restaurant that requires a lot of their time. People are always busy with many things to do, and it’s important for restaurants to understand consumer needs.” But long wait times aren’t necessarily bad, Paul said, noting that at new, trendy restaurants “it’s almost a good thing to have to wait.” He explained, “The wait in these cases adds to the mystique of the location and can be maintained, but only if the quality and consistency of the food and service is exemplary as well.” —Full-service restaurants slipped this year in their average wait times by more than a minute from their 2006 score and ranked sixth in service speed among the 10 industries gauged in the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s 2007 Wait Time Study.

The researchers acknowledged that wait time is not the sole factor in customer satisfaction, which also depends on staff friendliness, restaurant cleanliness, menu choices and quality of food. —Full-service restaurants slipped this year in their average wait times by more than a minute from their 2006 score and ranked sixth in service speed among the 10 industries gauged in the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s 2007 Wait Time Study.

“Restaurants in all areas of the country are very concerned with wait time and how it affects incoming clientele,” Paul said. “The difference in most metropolitan locations is the labor pool and compensation levels; this determines the staffing, which in turn affects the ability of a restaurant to serve guests.” —Full-service restaurants slipped this year in their average wait times by more than a minute from their 2006 score and ranked sixth in service speed among the 10 industries gauged in the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s 2007 Wait Time Study.

Paul added that consumers today “want immediacy and are more intolerant of waiting than they were 10 or 15 years ago.” —Full-service restaurants slipped this year in their average wait times by more than a minute from their 2006 score and ranked sixth in service speed among the 10 industries gauged in the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s 2007 Wait Time Study.