Effect of Menu Sign Position on Customer Ordering Times and Number of Food-Ordering Errors

Abstract

Data were collected to determine if an additional menu sign, visible to restaurant customers as they waited in line to order food, would reduce both the amount of time taken to order food as well as the number of food-ordering errors. An A-B-A-B design was utilized in which ordering times and errors were recorded before the addition of a second menu sign, after the addition of the second sign, after the removal of the second sign, and after the reinstallation of the second menu sign. Results indicated that the additional menu sign led to a significant decrease in both ordering times and ordering errors. Without the second sign, customers took an average of 23.82 seconds to place an order and made an average of .26 errors. In the two sign intervention conditions, customers took an average of 6.48 seconds to order and made an average of .08 errors. The sign manipulation resulted in effect sizes of 1.18 for ordering times and .99 for ordering errors.

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