ABSTRACT
Most customers dislike waiting in service lines (Katz et al. 1991; Jones and Dent 1994; Kumar et al. 1997). Customers generally view time as a valued resource, so they may decide that the wait is too long and leave the line or not return (Friedman and Friedman 1997; Pruyn and Smidts 1998). Traditionally, operations management techniques have been used to adjust the number of service points or improve the efficiency of the service process. These techniques are successful over time; however, since demand is not known with certainty in many service situations, it may exceed capacity in the short term. When these situations occur, the customers’ psychological experience needs to be managed by influencing the perceived waiting time. The customers’ perceived waiting time might influence their view of the service quality (Katz et al. 1991). While hospitality managers are continually striving to decrease actual waiting time or manage perceived waiting time, costs must be evaluated. In response to these operating costs, self-service technologies have been incorporated into many service firms. Research on these theoretical concepts of waiting and self-service technologies is based on tenets in marketing, psychology and operations management.
