While Brits are known for their ability to form a queue, waiting in line to buy something isn’t the most exciting experience. If you’ve ever abandoned a purchase at the sight of a long queue and perceived lengthy wait time, you’ll know that standing around in line isn’t the most productive use of time.
In retail stores, queue systems are a necessity if staffing and other logistical factors prevent shorter wait times. Thankfully, we’ve put together this guide on ways to improve customer experience in queues.
Queue management
Let’s cover the practical solutions first of all. For retail stores, customers need to know where to pay and how the queuing system works to avoid any embarrassing confusion. Once you’re confident that your queue design works to guide customers clearly to the payment counters, it’s also a good idea to assess the space itself. Is it suitable for coping with large queues of people safely? If you don’t already have them, crowd control equipment such as rope barriers are great for maximising queue spaced and keeping customers safe.
Provide longer wait estimates
The one thing customers hate more than queuing is waiting longer than promised. If your queue management indicates expected wait time, it can be helpful to increase these estimates slightly. This means you overdeliver on what the customer is expecting, resulting in a more positive customer service experience. While it might seem contradictory to disclose waiting times when people hate waiting and could be put off by this, it’s also true that some customers don’t like the uncertainty of entering a queue and not knowing how long it will take to be served.
Keep customers entertained
Depending on the size and nature of your retail business, you might have TV screens to keep customers entertained while they wait. You could use a TV to display sports, news or music channels to improve customer experience, or you could utilise screens to display your latest offers or advertisement. Another popular retail trick is to use the queue space to merchandise your products. Fit promotional displays or shelving into your queue design and use them to not only distract customers from waiting times but also to sell those last-minute impulse buys at the till.
