How To Make Angry Customers Who Wait In-Line Satisfied
Posted by
eli
on 7/15/09• Categorized as Business Advice
Customers are always the focus of any business. Without the customers there is no business, for a business’ reason for existence is its customers.
However, there are many situations where customers have to wait, to queue in line, and this waiting game turns off many of them.
Today’s customers not only demand good quality products, they also demand quality and fast service. Woe to a business owner who does not know how to attend and satisfy the needs of his customers. Sooner or later he will find his sales revenue declining, his profits falling and his enterprise losing.
But it is not too late. Below are the proven tips on how to make customers who wait in line become satisfied, instead of getting angry, as suggested by Karen L. Katz, Blaire M. Larson and Richard C. Larson, three management consultants.
1. Do not overlook the effects of perceptions management. When it comes to customer satisfaction, perception is reality. There is no limit to the frustration that waiting can cause.
2. Determine the acceptable waiting time for your customers. This will help you and your staff set objectives to improve customer satisfaction.
3. Get customers out of line. Whenever customers can be served without having to stand in line, do it, to benefit them.
4. Install distractions that entertain and physically involve the customer. While waiting in the office or shop, for example, you can offer customers reading materials. But keep the content lighthearted, fresh, and engaging. Many customers prefer horoscopes and tabloid headlines to more informative headline news.
5. Keep resources not serving customers out of sight. Customers tend to become annoyed if they see several unstaffed teller windows or if tellers are present but not serving customers.
6. Never underestimate the power of a friendly server. Servers should continually be trained and rewarded for good service, since their efforts can overcome many negative effects of waiting.
As customers experience a greater squeeze on their time, short waits seem longer and more stressful than ever before. Therefore, as managers and business owners, it is important to see to it that transactions should be brief. This way, customers will be satisfied, and if they must wait, to ensure that their waiting is pleasant, making them loyal customers.
Nice post! This is the kind of article that I want to read in blogs and am glad I’ve found it in yours.
I agree with your suggestions and tips. I will try to implement it in my fast food business. Thanks for sharing this informative article. So helpful.
Another way is to have a gift certificate or discount coupon that you give out if the waiting time is longer than you would wish.
One bad-mouthing customer can cut you out of thousands of customers. One satisfied customer earns you a lifetime of good will.
Mmm, I’m a strong advocate of ‘prevention is better than cure.’ In this case it would be better not to have them waiting in line in the first place.
If they are waiting (overly long) then that’s a symptom of a problem, and your solutions are only really addressing this symptom, not the cause.
You can also tell your customer to have their money/items ready. One of the things that annoys my mom the most is people searching for a card to pay the bill. Also, allowing your customer to leave the line by having a virtual line is nice. Get one of those buzzing things restaurants give out.
One note about using TVs, they may distract your customers and slow down a line. I held up a line once by mindlessly staring into a TV.
In some cases, it is okay to leave your customer than sticking to him and spending more resources on him. They aren’t gonna change their attitude towards us.They are just gonna make things worse either ways. When people buy stuffs from me and are n’t satisfied or pretend to be, i refund their money. I dont want to be replying to their mails often. I value my time and service more than the money he is gonna give me. Check out more at http://buinessworld.com/ . It is about real finance, business and stuffs.
Thanks and regards
Business World!
Thanks for sharing an interesting post on customer service. One of the things that annoys me is that I have stood in line at place of business, then I get my turn to see the staff person – the phone rings, she drops me to take the phone call and I sit waiting while she clears off my information to take care of the person who called in. I would think that they would take care of the person who was there in person and then take care of phone customers later. I practice this at my business – if I have a client that has take time out of their schedule see me in person, they get my attention and the phone call customer waits his turn.
I would give them something to do, like a mini game or quiz. If the customers have children I would give them little toys or books like fairytails.
You need to keep your customer occupied with something, have a sitting room with comfy chairs magazines, flyers about your company etc.
There are many ways to keep customers in a line satisfied or less dissatisfied.
Any vestiges of mild annoyance are usually extinguished by a very friendly and sincere “I’m sorry about your wait.” When I was in college I worked a few retail service type jobs and I always tried to throw in something for free if a customer had been inconvenienced (an extra shot in their latte, up the size of the drink they ordered, something like that) and if it’s presented right, their memory of the “righting of the wrong” will offset the trouble they were caused. Sometimes. I think.