Waiting for Service: The Relationship between Delays and Evaluations of Service

Delays in service are becoming increasingly common; yet their effects on service evaluations are relatively unknown. The author presents a model of the wait experience, which assesses the effects of delay duration, attribution for the delay, and degree to which time is filled, on affective and evaluative reactions to the delay. An empirical test of the model with delayed airline passengers reveals that delays do affect service evaluations; however, this impact is mediated by negative affective reactions to the delay. The degree to which the service provider is perceived to have control and the degree to which the delayed customer's time is filled also indirectly affect service evaluations, mediated by the customers' affective reactions of uncertainty and anger.