The wait
Yesterday our family went to run a few errands. Two stops were in-store pick-ups of items my wife ordered online. The experiences couldn't have been more opposite.
I parked in the "15 minute" online pick-up spot after driving around the parking lot for a few minutes with the kids in the car as we waited for my wife to get the item. After at least 20 minutes she finally came out. She explained to me she waited at the counter while the person at the counter took care of a customer on the phone and another employee was taking care of work for his department in lighting. The employees continued to ignore my wife until 4 more people got in line behind her. Then the employee asked that she get more help to take care of the people in line there. The wait was long even though the idea of order online and pick-up in store is supposed to be fast, when employees don't have this as a goal there's a break down of the idea.
Fast forward to Target, our next stop, where we also had an in-store pick-up for items my wife ordered on-line. I dropped her off and took the kids through the parking lot to turn around. By the time we got turned around and headed back toward the entrance, my wife was already back out with shopping bag in hand and a smile on her face. Target had even included a "thank you" note for shopping on-line in the bag. It was probably 2 minutes max.
The perception of how long the wait should be for what the customer is receiving is huge. Don't make people wait, when you're delivering a service that communicates convenience and saving time.
I parked in the "15 minute" online pick-up spot after driving around the parking lot for a few minutes with the kids in the car as we waited for my wife to get the item. After at least 20 minutes she finally came out. She explained to me she waited at the counter while the person at the counter took care of a customer on the phone and another employee was taking care of work for his department in lighting. The employees continued to ignore my wife until 4 more people got in line behind her. Then the employee asked that she get more help to take care of the people in line there. The wait was long even though the idea of order online and pick-up in store is supposed to be fast, when employees don't have this as a goal there's a break down of the idea.
Fast forward to Target, our next stop, where we also had an in-store pick-up for items my wife ordered on-line. I dropped her off and took the kids through the parking lot to turn around. By the time we got turned around and headed back toward the entrance, my wife was already back out with shopping bag in hand and a smile on her face. Target had even included a "thank you" note for shopping on-line in the bag. It was probably 2 minutes max.
The perception of how long the wait should be for what the customer is receiving is huge. Don't make people wait, when you're delivering a service that communicates convenience and saving time.