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?
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