Cornell Study Says Restaurant Guests' Satisfaction is Strongly Tied to Meal Pace

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. October 14, 2008

Want to Keep Your Dining Patrons Happy? Don't Rush Them...Or Make Them Wait

July 12, 2005 - Ithaca , NY -When there's a line out the door, full-service restaurant operators may be tempted to shorten meal durations to speed table turns. A new study from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research warns that strategies for shortening dining duration must be approached with care. Based on interviews and surveys of 270 people, Cornell researchers Breffni Noone and Sheryl Kimes found that guests' satisfaction is strongly tied to their perception of the meal's pace. Rush guests too much and they will be unhappy, but dragging out the meal also hurts guest satisfaction. Noone is a visiting assistant professor at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, where Kimes is a professor and acting dean.

"This is a valuable report because it formalizes what many restaurant operators have long suspected," said R. Mark Woodworth, executive managing director of PKF Hospitality Research. "While this doesn't seem like 'news,' it still gives the restaurant industry firm information on which to base its duration strategies."

"We found out that the relationship between restaurant pace and customer satisfaction is partly influenced by the type of restaurant," said Noone. "Diners' satisfaction declines as the pace increases in all restaurant types, but the satisfaction ratings were lower at a faster pace for fine dining than in the casual and upscale casual settings."

By subdividing the dining experience into three segments Noone and Kimes were able to determine specific points during which the restaurants can pick up the pace. Survey respondents had a much greater tolerance for speed in what Noone and Kimes called the post-process stage, which occurs with check settlement after the meal is consumed. On the other hand, diners were not fond of being rushed in the pre-process stage, when they are ordering drinks and reading the menu, and they detested being rushed during their actual meal, the in-process stage.

Rushing diners also cast negative reflections on their perceptions of the server. Extremely fast or slow service before and during the meal (as perceived by customers) makes diners think the server is doing a poor job. However, diners' ratings of the server improved as the speed increased during check settlement and other post-process activities.

The study found that one other source of satisfaction for restaurant customers is the feeling that they are in control of the meal's pace. Rush them and they feel out of control-and consequently become dissatisfied.

"Restaurant managers have long suspected that the stage of the dining experience affects the customer's view of the meal's pace," said Noone. "This study provides the first empirical support for the proposition that customers favor a brisk pace during the post-process stage and even during the pre-process stage. But diners dislike being rushed during the in-process stage, when they are consuming their meals."

These and all CHR Reports and Tools are available from the Center's web site at http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/chr/research/centerreports.html. Thanks to the support of partners listed below, all CHR Reports are made available free of charge.

About The Center for Hospitality Research

A unit of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration and now in its second decade, The Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) sponsors groundbreaking research designed to improve practices in the hospitality industry. The CHR also publishes the award-winning hospitality journal, the Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly. Under the lead of CHR's 41 corporate affiliates, experienced scholars work closely with business executives to discover new insights into strategic, managerial and operational issues. To learn more about CHR and its projects, visit http://www.thecenterforhospitalityresearch.org/.

The Center's supporters are leading organizations in the hospitality industry. Partners and sponsors are: AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp., Bartech Systems International, Cendant Corporation, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, HVS International, JohnsonDiversey, Inc., Kohinoor Group, Marsh's Hospitality Practice, Nestl'e, Smith Travel Research, Southern Wine and Spirits of New York, Thayer Group of Companies, Willowbend Golf Management, and Wyndham International.

The CHR's friends are: ARAMARK o DK Shifflet & Associates o ehotelier.com o Gerencia de Hoteles & Restaurantes o Global Hospitality Resources o Hospitality World o hospitalitynet.org o Hotel Asia Pacific o Hotel China o Hospitality Initiatives India o Hotel Interactive o Hotel Resource o International CHRIE o KPMG Japan/Global Management Directions o Lodging Hospitality o Lodging Magazine o Mobile MoneySaver o Hotelexecutive.com o PKF Hospitality Research o Resort+Recreation o The Resort Trades o RestaurantEdge.com o Shibata Publishing Co. o The Lodging Conference o TravelCLICK o UniFocus o WageWatch, Inc. o WiredHotelier.com