Managing the Wait

5/6/13 Managing the Wait

In our world, we wait. We wait for lots of reasons and as individuals we must learn to manage ourselves while we wait. In our place of business, our customers will certainly wait at times. During peak busyness periods they will wait more than during others. As purveyors of great customer service, we must be conscious of how the wait will be received by our customers and how we manage it as professionals and as managers. Patricia Lotich wrote a great article on this topic for EzineArticles.com. In it, she wrote, “It is unfortunate that organizations often get so wrapped up in the performance of delivering a service that they lose sight of the service experience. When was the last time that you assessed your service through the eyes of the customer?”

When we was the last time we sat in our own lobby? How do our customers receive their welcome measured on their wait? What sorts of conditions help you to feel positive about a waiting experience you’ve had? In my opinion, the two biggest tools for providing a positive wait are friendliness and ongoing communication- the communication of the concern for your wait and of the realistic time to expect to wait especially. I have waited for doctors who were known for their great interpersonal skills and desire to answer patients’ questions. The staff of those doctors would call ahead and indicated if the doctors were running behind. What are some ways we can be innovative in managing the wait? How do smart phones play a role in the wait? Could we have some funny or relevant texting-based surveys running at any given time on a computer monitor?  Could we have a list of recommended apps for our clients to view? Are their apps directly relevant to our work that we could recommend- or should we develop one?