Reducing Customer Waiting Time in Fast-Food Restaurants through Order Point Design and Efficient Service Flow Optimization

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the reduction of customer waiting time in a fast-food restaurant through redesigning the order-taking process and increasing the number of order points to improve service efficiency. The study applied industrial engineering concepts together with queueing theory to analyze service problems and evaluate improvement alternatives. Data were collected from actual service operations during three peak periods: morning, lunchtime, and evening, with a total sample of 50 customers. The existing service system was analyzed using preliminary operational data, a fishbone diagram, and queueing models including M/M/1 and M/M/s. The results indicated that the existing system, which operated with only one order point, had insufficient service capacity and created a bottleneck at the order-taking stage, especially during lunchtime when customer demand was highest. The original system had an average waiting time of 7.20 minutes, a standard deviation of 1.50 minutes, and a customer satisfaction level of 65%. The fishbone analysis revealed that the major causes of the problem were an insufficient number of order points, multiple service activities being combined at a single service point, inappropriate workforce allocation, and congestion within the service area. When improvement alternatives were evaluated using the M/M/s model, the results showed that increasing the number of order points to two reduced the average waiting time to 4.70 minutes, representing a 34.72% reduction, and increased customer satisfaction to 85%. Increasing the number of order points to three further reduced the average waiting time to 3.10 minutes, representing a 56.94% reduction compared with the original system, and increased customer satisfaction to 90%. The findings indicate that increasing the number of order points is an effective approach for reducing waiting time, decreasing queue congestion, and improving service quality in fast-food restaurants. The study also demonstrates that integrating industrial engineering tools with queueing theory provides a practical and systematic approach for analyzing service problems and proposing service system improvements.