Wed 22nd Oct 2014 - Restaurant customers reveal how much they hate waiting Restaurant customers reveal how much they hate waiting: Restaurant customers hate waiting around, either for their order to be taken, their food to arrive or their bill to be brought, new research by CGA Peach and Zonal Retail Data Systems has shown. Nearly half (47%) of all consumers said food not arriving quickly enough was their biggest frustration when going out for a meal. One in six (17%) of 25 to 34-year-olds said that not being able to pay quickly and move on was a major frustration. Another 24% said that their order being taken incorrectly was their leading complaint. However, a third of consumers (34%) in the survey said they would be interested in using their mobile devices to speed up ordering, a figure that rose to more than half (54%) among 18 to 24-year-olds. Half (51%) of 18 to 44-year-olds said they were ready to use a mobile to speed up payment. The study of 5,000 people found fewer than one in 16 (6%) of restaurant customers said they had already used their smartphones or tablets to either speed up ordering or payment. Stuart McLean, chief executive of Zonal Retail Data Systems, a leading provider of integrated hospitality management solutions to more than 6,000 leisure and hospitality businesses across the UK, said: “What is crystal clear from this research is that consumers won’t wait. Competition is fierce, and people know that if their restaurant or pub doesn’t give them speed and convenience, there are plenty of others who will. We need to make life for our customers as easy as possible, and the brands that identify the systems and processes to achieve that will be the ones that win the race.”