Over half (51%) of consumers believe that bars and restaurants need to improve when it comes to speeding up payment procedures, according to new research
The poll of 2,000 consumers by Streamline, the largest provider of card payment processing in the UK, shows how irritated consumers become when waiting to pay in bars and restaurants, as well as the actions they take as a result of their annoyance.
The survey found that 42% of people complained verbally about the length of time it has taken to pay, and 16% admitted to having lost their temper and regretted it later. 41% said they had reduced or withheld a tip due to slow payment, and 24% simply left.
When asked whether or not waiting to pay would impact their decision to visit a bar and restaurant again, 65% said they would not go back and 86% would walk in and leave straight away, if they saw a queue to pay.
Donna Dawson, a psychologist and consumer behaviour expert, said: “Restaurants forget at their peril that dealing speedily with payment is still an essential part of good customer service. A customer who has to wait to pay will feel ignored and expendable, and this situation could run the risk of non-payment.
"Customers today have no time to wait around once their meal is over - we are witnessing the death of the British queue, as 'time is money' for everyone in the present economy. If left cooling their heels, customers will simply vote with their feet and not return. Consequently, bars and restaurants need to be doing all they can to process payments as quickly as possible.”
The research was revealed as Streamline launched a new payment terminal called StreamlineDigital, which reduces transaction times from 14-16 seconds to 4-6 seconds therefore decreasing queues and increasing customer satisfaction.
