Lines... and how we really feel about waiting!

The Washington Post recently featured an Ana Swanson article about line queuing titled, What Really drives you crazy about waiting in line (it actually isn't the wait at all)?

CPS' QuikLine managing queues in Los Angeles

It turns out, says Swanson, that the time people spend waiting in line, and how they feel when they do so, is a big deal for people and for the economy.

Richard Larson, who studies line queuing theory at MIT, estimates people can spend a year (or 2!!) waiting in line over their lifetime. And, virtually no one enjoys waiting in line -- particularly when you consider that includes waiting in traffic and the DMV!

As a result, the ways business manage lines, according to Swanson, results in easily billions of dollars of gained and lost brand equity and consumer spending.

A bad line experience can forever impact a shopper's perception of a particular store or the brand --- as well as cause shoppers to leave a line (that's known as reneging) or even leave the store instead of going through the line (balking) -- resulting in revenue losses.

It turns out how people feel when they wait matters a lot more than how long they wait.

A key element in how people feel is fairness regardless of the wait times, according to Swanson.

Whole Foods utilizes CPS' QuikLine  automated queuing software in many metro stores.  Over the years, we've noticed that many stores have switched to multiple lines from a single serpentine line when there is space (another critical commodity!). Swanson notes that the "guarantee" of fairness eliminates the stress and anxiety associated with selecting "the wrong line" when there are many, unmanaged parallel lines.

Interested in improving your customer's wait experiences? Contact CPS to find out more about QuikLine.

Retail Wait Warp: what can you do?

Retail wait warp? Is this some new Star Trek activity?

Not really, but...the term implies changing your retail customer's perception of their time in a checkout line.

No one likes waiting in line; that's something everyone agrees on. We can also agree that the checkout line experience heavily influences your customer's opinion of the entire shopping experience.

A recent Irisys blog notes, "People's perception of elapsed time when waiting is fairly accurate up to a minute and a half; after this point, they tend to over estimate how long the wait was."   In a sense, people's wait perceptions get exaggerated (one might even say warped!). Thus, it's even more important to proactively manage the experience.

There are a variety of methods to reduce perceived wait time. POS activity (messaging, for example) is a possibility -- as is having staff members interact with shoppers when possible.

Key, however, is a single file line -- or multiple lines with a specific target. A single line removes any question about who is next in line.Uncertainty generates anxiety -- and that anxiety negatively influences the experience. Multiple lines with a single target allow your shopper to select a line and know that it will be effectively managed, as well.

Managed lines maximize the wait warp as everyone senses the process is optimized. The wait experience itself is warped!

Talk to us here at CPS about QuikLine -- warp your retail stores with automated line management!