The next time you’re at a restaurant, you might want to be a bit more accepting of a long wait and poor service, Inc. reports.Â
Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG, says poor service can be an indicator that the economy is healthy and that labor is in short supply. Says Swonk, who takes note of service quality when she dines out, “The longer the time, the better the economy. Staffing issues show up in the quality and the timeliness of your service.”
The same can be true for other services as well, adds Swonk, but it’s especially true when it comes to restaurants.
Swonk says she saw evidence of this during past economic cycles and was struck by how empty many restaurants were during the Great Recession. “That was just incredibly chilling,” she says, adding that she did get great service. Read the full story (subscription).Â
