The inevitable queue: exploring the impact of wait time at sporting events

Abstract

While the goal of almost any service provider is to eliminate wait from the consumption experience, there are a number of service environments where this ideal may be impractical, if not impossible, to deliver, among them live sport. Live sporting events often have queues at entry and exit gates, facility concessions and toilets. This study tests a model featuring antecedents not used in prior research on waiting. Findings suggest that facility layout features and waiting fill time both have a positive influence on spectators' feelings about a wait. Most interestingly perhaps, these same antecedents may also serve as a cue that long waits are likely.