The Effect of Waiting Time and Affective Reactions on Customers' Evaluation of Service Quality in a Cafeteria

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of waiting time on the evaluation of satisfaction and service quality. Research procedures included two phases. During the first phase, data on wait times, expected wait times, and satisfaction were collected by survey and observation. Surveys on service quality were distributed to customers of a university cafeteria service area in an Eastern city in the United States. The second phase investigated the relationships among waiting time, affective reactions, satisfaction, and service quality. Correlation analyses, regression, and t-tests were used to examine relationships between these variables. Results indicate that failing to meet customers' expected waiting time and reasonablewaiting time could negatively impact their satisfaction and evaluation of service quality. The study confirmed that customers' affective reaction plays a mediating role between discrepancies and satisfaction, and that waiting time is related to the reliability aspect of service quality. The study differentiated the reasonable-perceived discrepancy and the expected-perceived discrepancy. While expected-perceived discrepancy influences only the reliability aspect of service quality, the reasonable-perceived discrepancy seems to influence overall aspects of service.