Have you ever walked out of a business? What made you do it? And
more importantly, did you share your frustration with the business?
Good businesses who care about customer service
are always asking themselves, how can I keep loyal customers happy and attract
new ones.
According to one recent survey the answer is –
Don’t make them wait.
Great Clips, a U.S. based salon chain commissioned
the survey to help gauge customer satisfaction. It turns out as
consumers, we aren’t a patient bunch.
Most won’t
wait more than ten minutes at a retail outlet. The survey found:
76%
of respondents say a wait any longer than five to ten minutes at a retail
business is unreasonable.
94%
say a reasonable amount of time to wait at a retail business is 5 – 10 minutes
or less.
If a retail
business makes them wait fifteen minutes or longer:
63% say it shows bad customer service and a lack of respect for their
time.
52% say they take their business elsewhere
48% say they assume the business is not well run and badly managed.
When asked
what bothered them most about a retailer:
Most often ranked as the #1 annoyance:
• A rude staff
• They made me wait
• I paid too much
In other
survey findings:
• 87% of respondents say they would use a technology that kept them
from waiting in line at a retail stores if it saved them 15 minutes of waiting.
• 2 out of 3 respondents say they would use online check-in or download
an app that saved their place in line at a retail business.
The survey
also asked respondents for the most annoying time waster in their lives.
Most often ranked as the #1 annoyance (in order):
• Getting Placed on Hold
• Waiting in Line
• Sitting in Traffic
Businesses may want to focus more on the
clock to keep consumers smiling. Address long lineups quickly by bringing
more staff to the till. If you don’t have the extra staff
and must keep customers waiting, often just
apologizing to those waiting in line and mentioning “We will be with you
as soon as we can”…is a simple but effective gesture.
Consumers just want to be acknowledged.
Customers, don’t take out your frustrations on the
staff. Most likely the delays or staff shortage is not their fault. Speak
to a manager before or after leaving the store. Written
complaints through email can often be the most
effective. Sharing your frustrations on twitter or facebook to the
company can also get the the attention of a company’s social media team.
It’s important to share your concerns
with the store, otherwise they will never have a chance to improve their
customer service. You never know, the business may surprise you.
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