![\"Customers\"](\"https:\/\/cuaccountants.co.nz\/app\/uploads\/customers_1634510747-300x194.jpg\")
Balancing customer experience against your budget is a difficult task.\u00a0 You need the right amount of staff working to keep customers happy, but not so many people that workers are standing around looking for things to do.<\/p>\nBalancing customer experience against your budget is a difficult task.\u00a0 You need the right amount of staff working to keep customers happy, but not so many people that workers are standing around looking for things to do.<\/p>\n
If your customers have long wait times, that\u2019s good news for you initially\u2014it means your business is popular.\u00a0 The bad news is customers won\u2019t wait around forever for you to fix your time management issues.\u00a0 If they like your goods or services, they\u2019ll be a bit forgiving, but too many long waits will send them to your competition.<\/p>\n
If you need to manage customer wait times without hiring more people, here are some ideas that can help you.<\/p>\n
Every business has busy times and slow times.\u00a0 One way to lessen wait times is to shift customers from the busy periods to the slower ones.\u00a0 Offer incentives for coming in during quiet hours.\u00a0 For example, you could offer 10% off for customers who come in between 11 and 1, if that\u2019s your quiet time.<\/p>\n
Some retail establishments even encourage customers to schedule an appointment to come in, rather than just walking in.\u00a0 This can also help you manage customer flow and shift people to less busy times.<\/p>\n
![\"Shop,](\"https:\/\/cuaccountants.co.nz\/app\/uploads\/shop_counter_1634510838-300x284.png\")
Complicated transactions take more time, and they force your other customers to wait longer for service.\u00a0 Have a special station where returns are taken, online purchases are picked up or loyalty program sign-ups are processed, for example.<\/p>\n
These transactions are not only more complex, they happen less frequently so moving them out of the regular line doesn\u2019t add significant work to your staff, but decreases customer wait times overall.<\/p>\n
See if there are ways to streamline your queue, so customers aren\u2019t waiting a long time to be helped by one person.\u00a0 For example, you could have one employee greeting people, another asking if they need help, and someone else ringing up the purchase.\u00a0 Or you could have mobile point of sale software that allows your staff to help customers anywhere they are\u2014inside or outside the store.<\/p>\n
Point of sale (POS) software enables staff to search information, find items, close transactions, accept payments and even print receipts, saving your customers from long waits in line.<\/p>\n
You can even invest in technology, so customers can check-in with you online before coming to your business.\u00a0 Their wait time overall may still be the same, but they\u2019ll spend part of it at home, so it won\u2019t feel as long to them.<\/p>\n
![\"Happy,](\"https:\/\/cuaccountants.co.nz\/app\/uploads\/happy_customer_1634510988-300x300.png\")
At some point, your business will be so busy that customers will be stuck waiting for service.\u00a0 In those cases, under promise and over deliver.\u00a0 If you know something will take 3 hours, tell the customer it will take 4 hours.\u00a0 Customers are happier if something takes less time than expected than if it takes more.<\/p>\n
This tactic also buys you time in case of unexpected delays.\u00a0 The worst thing in this situation is that you have to repeatedly tell customers their wait will be longer.\u00a0 That frustrates them and makes them less likely to come back.<\/p>\n
Line-ups and wait times are inevitable, but they don\u2019t necessarily mean you need more employees.\u00a0 There are solutions available to you that enhance the customer experience without you hiring more people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"