Bottlenecks: Sometimes People Need to Wait

I was waiting in the post office last week, and it seemed like people were taking a long time to handle their transactions. I was getting impatient. Then I realized that sometimes waiting is required. When it was my turn at the post office, and at the bank, I was happy that the clerk took the time to handle my requests properly, despite the line behind me. I deserve quality service, and so does everyone else. But why do I need to wait for their service?

How does this apply to your business? Simple. You do your best for your clients/customers. Sometimes the calls come in too quickly and the line builds up behind the customer you are helping. People don't like to wait, but it is not cost-effective to have employees waiting around in case there is a rush. Obviously, if you are anticipating a busy season, or a busy period during the day, it makes sense to hire extra staff for those periods. But there are other things you can do to keep things flowing smoothly and happily:

1. Streamline your procedures. Set up a system to allow customer service to flow quickly. Get as much information as possible onto your website. If customers have a login, direct them to their account for specific information. If not, tell them where to get information.

Depending on your business you may need to set up a database or some sort of interface to track customer service calls or to handle requests. Maybe you simply need an efficient way to take notes and to retrieve information for your callers. Give them the help they need quickly. If something requires more time, take their information and call them back. (I opened a bank account and the system went down in the middle. The clerk told me to come back later. He prepared all the paperwork during his break so that I could sign everything quickly when I returned, at my convenience.)

2. Make waiting as pleasant as possible. For a small investment have some sort of hold music on your phone. Let people know you're getting to them as quickly as possible. Alternatively, don't have lots of holding. Use voice mail instead. Tell callers that you will look up their information and call them back as soon as possible. This saves them the wait time and allows you to gather some answers even before you speak. For people physically waiting in your store/office, have things for them to read. Put up nice pictures or a TV. If you are running an event, and the line is at check-in, have staff or volunteers circulate to entertain your guests. Have people answer questions and direct people to the correct line. Generally people don't mind waiting if they see progress and if they are being engaged.

There are simple things that you can do to help people pass the time and to help you give quality service to each customer. Contact me to discuss what you can do to help your customers efficiently.

Until next time, stay organized,
Yoram Schwell
Efficiency Consultant
The Organized Office
www.efficientandorganized.com
yoram@efficientandorganized.com
phone (Israel): 077-556-2012, 052-681-5281
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