Acknowledge People Waiting in Line

Sometimes you don’t mind waiting.

• Dining at a fine restaurant is best experienced as leisurely. This applies even to the delivery of the entrée. You don’t want to wait hours. But if you order the forbidden black rice risotto and the server dumps it in front of you thirty-five seconds later, alarm bells sound from your brain’s gourmet lobe. Hey, it takes thirty-five minutes to prepare a palatable forbidden black rice risotto.
• Researchers at University of Michigan find that when it comes to products with a custom or artistic component, purchasers tend to consider a longer delivery time—within reasonable limits—as a signal of higher quality.
• Researchers at University of California-San Diego and Duke University discovered that although people say they would never pay more money if it meant waiting longer for delivery, some of those same people report experiencing substantial pleasure from anticipation during the wait.
• Researchers from Boston College, University of Miami, and Duke University point out how a fairly high percentage of people don’t mind at all sitting in a waiting room for a while before a necessary, but unpleasant, experience, such as a dental appointment. The researchers found that many of them use the waiting time to prepare themselves.

     Still, standing around a store waiting is pretty much a slam-dunk bother. Giving customers something interesting to look at can help. Airport waiting areas use television sets with the sound volume kept low. You could do that, too. In hotel elevator lobbies, a large mirror causes time to go faster for waiting guests. Some retailers report good results from relaxing those waiting by pumping in a lavender or vanilla scent.
     But especially among American consumers, a foundation of the hating in waiting is the shopper worrying they’re being treated inequitably. “A shopper who arrived after I did might get served before me.”
     There’s a research-based technique for easing that source of anxiety: Acknowledge each consumer as they arrive in line. Make eye contact, smile, and nod.
     There’s an art in doing it well. You don’t want the person you’re now serving to think you’re ignoring them by looking away. Do it between sentences, when the person in front of you takes a breath. And do it with everyone who comes. That way, the person you’re now serving recognizes they got the benefit of your instant acknowledgement earlier.

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

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Help Customers Buy Unpleasant Necessities
Keep Ecommerce Product Returns Pleasant
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