Mitigating Customers Wait Times in Small Businesses

Abstract Purpose. Customer satisfaction is particularly critical for small, family-run food establishments that depend on repeat local patrons. This study investigates customer service delays at Tsehay Migib Bet, a small neighborhood food house serving local workers and residents. Method. A qualitative case-study design was employed. Primary data was collected via conversational, semi-structured interviews with 15 regular customers selected through convenience sampling. Field notes were documented and analyzed thematically. Findings. Of the 15 participants, 11 (73.3%) identified the waiting period after order placement as the primary service bottleneck. Food quality, pricing, and physical menu availability were not identified as concerns. Recommendations. The study proposes a low-bandwidth pre-order framework (combining direct messaging and lightweight mobile forms) and outlines a Phase 2 pilot test with targeted KPIs to evaluate real-world wait-time reduction.