Google Now Shows Store and Restaurant Wait Times

We have all had to do it, and we all hate it, wait in line for a restaurant table or at a store. It is part of our lives especially around busy holidays and in places like airports. Goggle is hoping to help us avoid this tiresome activity by enhancing Google Maps last year.

If you have noticed small bar charts appear on your phone when you search for a business, you have already experienced Google Maps’ popular times feature. This feature appears under the business listing and provides searchers with peak times that day and on other days, by simply swiping the screen. Consumers can quickly see if a restaurant, shop, or other business is usually busy at a time they expect to visit.

Google is collecting the data using both historical data and current search data much the same way they predict traffic delays on Google Maps. They use tracking of phones and search information to present the data. Google is now also asking consumers if a location they are searching for is busy through a question window. This survey will assist in gathering information for newer businesses without search history. Most consumers have no idea that they may be included in this popular time data presentation.

While some are embracing this feature as a time saver, not all businesses are excited about the feature. Businesses often staff based on their peak times and reduce staff and or inventory on non-peak times. If consumers begin to shift patterns based on the Google information, businesses are left trying to plan in a vacuum.

Consumers viewing busy times can then shift their plans accordingly, however businesses cannot shift their resources that readily. Businesses can find themselves scrambling to keep up when non peak times suddenly turn peak. Consequently, Businesses can lose revenue from excess staffing, inventory or other perishable resources when non peak times slow down.

For consumers that then visit the business during non-peak times they could find poor service due to understaffing and possible issues with product availability. Since Google peak times is based on past data and current visitors, it can’t anticipate unscheduled peaks like the grocery crunch before a snowstorm or a busy day because of a variable school holiday. The popular times are also not connected to marketing promotions by a business.

Some businesses have already commented that they want to be removed from having this feature attached to their Google profile because it is causing issues in trying to run their business effectively. As of this time, no opt out tool is available to businesses and Goggle has not reported how many people are swiping through the popular times feature.

I used this feature a few times during the past holiday season and did find the information for peak hours at a store or restaurant to be somewhat accurate. However, Google also does not offer waiting alternatives for restaurants such as call ahead on many of the new online applications, like NoWait. These options would have enhanced my user experience much like alternate routing when stuck in traffic. They also do not integrate at all with the businesses promotion that could use those slow times to drive traffic with coupons and promotions.