How long can you really wait in a restaurant?
By kingparker
@kingparker (9673)
United States
June 1, 2011 8:20pm CST
For me, if I wait longer than 20 minutes, I might not want to dine in a particular restaurant myself. For my friend, he can wait 30 minutes or 1 hour if there is an open bar. If he has kids tag along, he can only be there for 20 minutes or less. I heard that some big chain restaurants will apply those computer system to sort out the average waiting time for customers, and factoring it out. So the customers don't have to wait too long in line, and to enhance the customer service. In Europe, I heard that some restaurants have this mini credit card device on the side of customers' dining table, so when the customers done their meals, and the wait persons simply swipe the card, they are good to go. Increase the service time.
So, how long can you actually wait in a busy restaurant?
2 people like this
14 responses
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
6 Aug 11
I hate waiting in whatever circumstances. And how much more when it concerns about eating. When hungry I can't really wait so I hate going to a busy restaurant. I want my food served the quickest possible time. It also depends on what food I ordered. If it has to be cooked for longer time then I am willing to wait. Otherwise the most I could wait is only up to 15 minutes.
@chiwasaki (4694)
• Philippines
5 Jun 11
There are restaurant that is already giving the wait time like for 10-20 minutes. I can still tolerate that and I'm willing to wait specially if I really like the food. However, if it is already roughly around 20 - 30 minutes and it is a fast food chain, I can't wait for that any longer.
@asliah (11137)
• Philippines
27 Jun 11
hi,
the maximum time that i can wait in a restaurant is within 30 minutes,but not one hour,especially when i am in my work,because i only have one hour break for my lunch,so when i the o wait time that i need to wait is one hour,i would rather choose to find some other restaurant that can prepare less than 30 minutes.
@cutepenguin (6431)
• Canada
2 Jun 11
I don't like to wait longer than 30 minutes. Around here, a lot of restaurants have pager systems so you can at least go outside and walk around until you are paged. If I am going to a restaurant that i know will be busy, I'll try to go early or to make a reservation.
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
2 Jun 11
I think the longest I have waited in a restaurant was about 45 miutes. I would do it again also because they serve the very best food ever.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
2 Jun 11
hi kingparker I wait as long as it takes because I go to my favorite restaurant when I go out. and if it takes over a half our I do get the waitress's attention and ask if I have been forgotten as that has
happened when they had a new girl.When I ask I get waited on at
once but stuck here I seldom get out that much now.Stuck here in Gold crest and unable to walk easily I do not get to have that luxury and I do miss it terribly as I like to eat out occasionally., lol lol
@marguicha (223129)
• Chile
2 Jun 11
I have waited only in popular restaurants that don´t have a way of making a reservation. Mostly I have had this problem when I´m out of the country, because I don´t know how it works. But where I usually dine out, with friends or family, we make reservations stating time and number or people. We might have at the most a five minute wait while they set our table properly.
@jahernandezrivas (11288)
• United States
2 Jun 11
If the food is worht the wait I could wait all day well maybe half a day!! L.O.L. I would wait all day for some really good Mexican Food!! L.O.L. 
@sender621 (14894)
• United States
2 Jun 11
Thirty minutes should be plenty long enough to have to wait in any style of restaurant. If thirty minutes has to turn into forty or more, i will probably find myself looking for the door. if a restaurant wants a customer's business making them wait too long is not the answer.
