The effects of music, wait-length evaluation, and mood on a low-cost wait experience

Waiting time research has implicitly assumed customers incur high waiting costs during service delays. However, few studies have explicitly measured customer perceptions of waiting costs. Our study examined the effects of judgment about music, wait-length evaluation, and customer mood on subjects' overall experience evaluations in a low-cost wait situation. Results showed that while music likeability influenced both wait-length evaluation and mood, only mood contributed to subjects' evaluation of their overall experience. Implications of the findings for research and practice are discussed. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.