Want customer loyalty? Improve your waiting room

Business Tip of the Month 

June 2018

The waiting room experience can be either a deal breaker or a first step toward long-term customer loyalty. If you subject your clients to stressful and uncomfortable delays in an unpleasant environment, you may lose them forever. On the other hand, a few carefully chosen amenities and consistently applied practices can keep them coming back — even when waiting is unavoidable.

Take these customer-focused waiting room ideas into consideration:

• Offer free Wi-Fi. Customers expect to stay connected, whether to chat on social media, answer emails or create spreadsheets. Talk to your internet provider about setting up a guest network that's separate from your secure internal system. If necessary, increase bandwidth to make internet browsing faster. Post the guest network name and password in plain sight.

• Make seating comfortable and clean. Sit in your waiting room chairs for half an hour. Do you feel pain? If so, it's time to shop for replacements. Ditto if the chairs are stained and shabby. Provide smaller chairs for children and leave plenty of space between chairs so customers don't feel hemmed in.

• Take care with television. Depending on your clientele, consider limited programming that fits your customers' interests. A hair salon, for example, might offer channels featuring beauty tips. An accounting office might program market updates and world news. If children will be present, keep programming lighthearted. And use closed captioning to reduce noise.

• Make it pleasant and efficient. Create a stress-reducing environment by using green plants, natural lighting and landscape artwork. Set tables at an appropriate height for filling out paperwork.

• Communicate expectations. When the hostess at your local restaurant says the wait will be an hour, you're provided with options. You can leave your name, shop at a nearby store, and return later. Provide a similar experience for your customers. If the wait will be longer than originally expected, apologize.

Your time is valuable. Let customers know that you respect their time, too.