Article

Why timeliness and responsiveness are crucial for retail

The best time for anything is the time that is best for the customer.

March 15, 2012

Timeliness has always been important. And today, responsive action—doing things in a timely fashion—is even more crucial. Just look around at the number of businesses that have been created to get things done quickly:

• FedEx won international success by delivering letters and small parcels "Absolutely, Positively, Anytime."
• LensCrafters optical stores promise "Custom-Crafted Eyeglasses in About an Hour."
• Google built its success on providing instant access to a vast universe of information at the click of a mouse.
• Zappos.com will have shoes arriving on your doorstep the very next day because they value your time and want you to come back to their site again and again.

The big-name national service leaders don't have a corner on the timeliness market. All over town, you can find sameday dry cleaning, carpet installed the next day, and twenty- four-hour automated banking services. At the same time, a growing number of traditional manufacturing companies are practicing Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory management, ordering things to arrive just in time. Sometimes "just in the nick of time."

Companies that cater to time-conscious customers are everywhere you look. With software programs that now continuously search the Internet for mentions of a company, service providers can respond to a post or Tweet practically before the customer's fingers leave his or her keyboard. And their success affects your customers' expectations of your willingness and ability to do the same. Small wonder that your customers may be demanding tighter deadlines and faster service than ever before. When they see others promising—and delivering—fast, fast, fast, they expect the same from you.

Setting—and Meeting—Deadlines

Sometimes it seems that everybody wants everything done at the same time. But it's a mistake to automatically think your customers won't accept anything less than "right this instant." On the other hand, giving yourself too much extra "wiggle room" or time to do the work can make you appear slow and leave you and your company looking unresponsive.

Start by finding out what the customer really needs by when. There's a big difference between, "I have to have this dry-cleaned to wear in two days" and, "I want to have these winter coats cleaned before I put them away for the season." Use that information to pick a time that works well for you and try it out on the customer. Nine times out of ten, you'll hear "yes." And if your suggestion doesn't work, your customer will let you know and you can work together to find an alternative. Customers appreciate and remember such responsiveness to their needs.

The next time you're in doubt, ask your customers, "When would you like this?" You may be pleasantly surprised when they pick a reasonable time, or even ask you: "Well, when could you have it done?" An added benefit is that it gives them a sense of control and involvement. We are all more comfortable when we feel we have some control over our lives and the things that go on around us.

Deadlines are important. But deadlines are created by people. When you say to a customer, "I'll have it ready for you this afternoon," or, "I'll put it in the mail today," you are creating an expectation for your customer and setting a deadline for yourself. Be realistic, because once created, deadlines become yardsticks by which your customer will measure your success or failure. Knock Your Socks Off Service results from creating acceptable, realistic expectations of responsiveness in your customers' minds and then meeting those expectations.

When Customers Must Wait

The best time for anything is the time that is best for the customer. But dissatisfaction isn't always measured in minutes. Rather, dissatisfaction is often the result of uncertainty. Research shows that the most frustrating aspect of waiting is not knowing how long the wait will be. Better to be proactive than reactive.

A friend of ours recently took her car to be serviced early on a Monday morning. After not hearing any updates all day, she finally called the repair shop late Monday afternoon and was upset to learn mechanics hadn't even looked at it yet. She'd taken the day off work and could've been running errands all day instead of being without a vehicle. A little information up front would have saved her time—and the repair shop a customer!

Be aware of what your customers think is an acceptable wait. According to a study by Restaurants & Institutions magazine, for example, "fast" for fast-food customers means five minutes or less, while diners in a family restaurant are willing to wait as long as thirty minutes for their specially prepared food to arrive. Similarly, in the retail business expectations may vary with the time of day or season of the year. Customers are less able, let alone less willing, to wait around for help during their lunch hour at work than on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Pay special attention to waiting time when your customers are out of your sight, whether on the phone, in another part of town, or in another state, rather than standing right in front of you. Out of sight is much more worrisome to customers.

Think about your own experiences as a customer. When you are in line behind someone who insists on paying off the national debt in pennies or are waiting for the manufacturer to plant and grow the oak trees to make your new furniture, it is usually the uncertainty—Will I be served sometime this century?— more than the wait itself that gets your blood pumping. Ditto for sitting on an airplane as your scheduled departure time goes whooshing by. The wait is more tolerable if the pilot announces the reason for the delay, rather than leaving you wondering if or when the wheels will ever again leave the tarmac.

As a service professional, you may not be able to count pennies any faster, make trees grow overnight, or get an airplane off the ground, but you can make waiting less traumatic. Acknowledge waiting customers and keep them informed about what is happening. Be as specific as you can: "I'm with another customer right now, but should be free in about fifteen minutes. If you would like to look around some more, I'll come find you the minute I'm through."

In face-to-face settings, acknowledgment doesn't have to be verbal. In the words of one restaurateur, "Make eye contact with the customers. Make your actions say, 'I know you are there. I'll be with you very soon.'"

Reprinted, with permission, from "Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service, 5th Edition" © 2012 Performance Research Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. Published by AMACOM Books, Division of American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019