The Psychology of Decisions to Abandon Waits for Service

Abstract

This research investigates the process that underlies consumer decisions to abandon waits for service. The work centers on a hypothesis that stay-or-renege decisions reflect a process that blends two opposing psychic forces: escalating displeasure with waiting versus an escalating commitment to a wait that has been initiated. The consequence is a predicted tendency that abandonments are most likely near the midpoint of waits, which is suboptimal for many waiting time distributions. This study tests the hypothesis using data from three laboratory experiments in which participants play a time-management game that involves waiting for downloads from different computer servers, as well as field data about hang-ups in an emergency call center in India. The data lend support to the proposed competing hazards model and show that the trade-off between desires to abandon and persist is moderated by contextual factors, such as the initial number of alternative queues and the amount of distracting activity engaged in during a wait.

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