For those of you who follow my posts, I shared with you that I am in the process of obtaining my certification in Customer Experience and that I would share some of the most interesting practices and take-away. From the second weeks’ materials I want to share with you something that really struck me both as a consumer and as a marketing practitioner in a B2B environment.
How does an engagement with a company you want to do business with start off your relationship?
Have you ever tried to reach a company and only got the run-around with “dialing for a department” and then ending up either in the wrong department (they connect you yet again) or you reach the right department and either no one is there to pick up the line or you are put in a queue. If you’re really lucky they’ll tell you how long your “approximate” wait will be.
Not a great start, right?
But, the reality of business today in doing more with less, as in less live, breathing people to answer the phone on the first ring, can still be managed in such a way that the wait doesn’t detract from the overall customer experience. In an article shared with us in our CE class called “The Psychology of Waiting Lines”, written by David H. Maister in 2005, the premise is that no one enjoys waiting and that the perceived value of the product or service plays a big part in how we as humans tolerate and react to waiting.
For services that we feel are of little-to-no value we generally have a lower tolerance for waiting than those services perceived to have a higher value. Think of how the crowds at Disney wait patiently to get on a ride that lasts on only a few minutes. Think back to the last time you were at Disney and how did that wait feel? Did you notice any of the mechanisms that they use to help make that wait feel shorter? The distraction techniques of engaging the waiting crowds help keep the waiting crowd from becoming frustrated and annoyed before getting on the ride and in many cases help build the anticipation and excitement tied into the actual experience.
One of my favorites is the Haunted Mansion which only offers a 9 minute ride but on average one endures a 25 minute wait. Still, as you wind around the old house and see the tombstones and hear the organ wails in the background and then finally step into the parlor that is just a disguised elevator taking you to the next level, you realize how engaged you’ve become before stepping into the ride itself.
While most of our companies don’t offer hair-raising, thrill-seeking services or experiences like Disney, I challenge those who want to create a memorable and high-rating customer experience to think of ways to reduce the wait time or engage the customer in some way to distract them from their conscious waiting. And for the inevitable delay that will happen, a heartfelt apology is still good policy.
Chris Echevarria is a veteran of the offset analog world who has made her way into the digital space. From marketing segment manager, competitve market analyst, product manager and currently as Canon Solutions America’s customer experience manager in Boca Raton, Chris enjoys participating in the changing landscape of the printing industry.
