Nobody likes to wait. In today's fast-paced world, customers get increasingly frustrated with long wait times. But in some industries, waiting is part of the deal. Take car service companies. When you get new tires or an oil change, you have to wait. No other way around it. The question then becomes, how do you improve your customer's waiting experience?
A vending machine is a good start, but sometimes it's not enough. It would behoove any business to make their customer's waiting experience as enjoyable as possible. Improving this experience leads to a better perceived wait time. It would also ensure that customers return. Below are four ways to improve your customer's waiting experience.
4 Ways To Improve Your Customer's Waiting Experience
1. Entertainment
Offering your customer a chance to (momentarily) escape the monotony of waiting is always a good idea. Have a TV installed that plays anything from the news to reruns of sitcoms. There's no better way to loose track of time than by getting sucked into old episodes of Cheers or Friends.
2. Free WiFi
Everyone's busy all the time in today's world. There's always something that can be done. By providing free WiFi, customers can easily connect to their jobs and handle a few tasks.
3. Communicate
Instead of letting your customer sit there for what seems like an eternity to them, keep them in the know. Inform them of the progress of their order or service. This keeps them in the loop and breaks up the waiting period into smaller parts that are easier to digest. Depending on your industry, this could be a simple face-to-face conversation or done through email.
4. Atmosphere
If you know your customers will be waiting at your location, be sure to provide a calm and relaxing place for them to wait. The furniture should comfortable, something that can be sat on for the duration of your average wait time without becoming uncomfortable. Also, keep it up to date. It doesn't need to be something that would be featured in Architectural Digest, but it also shouldn't look like it was bought from a garage sale.
Although most people are able to keep themselves occupied with their smartphones, it's always good to show them you care enough to make their waiting period pleasant. The above suggestions aren't the only way, either. Get creative when thinking about improving your service. Do you have any ideas that have helped?
