Canadians say they wait too long for service:: 86 per cent admit to leaving a store because of it

Maritz Survey also says 67 per cent tell others about their frustrating experiences.


Canadian consumers are abandoning their shoppingcarts, delaying purchases and leaving stores, public transit stops andrestaurants in significant numbers according to a Maritz Research survey oncustomer wait times.

A whopping 86 per cent of participantspolled admitted to walking out of a store frustrated with having waited too long for service. The research showed that customer expectations and opinions on wait times were strongly influenced by the retailer's attitude towards client care. The poll also reveals the ripple effect of unsatisfied consumers, impacting their future spending and potentially additional loss of sales through negative word-of-mouth messages.

According to the survey conducted by Maritz Research that polled over 1,300 Canadians between the ages of 18 - 64 from Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia the following percentages of customers walked out of the store due to long wait times:

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86 PER CENT HAVE LEFT BECAUSE OF LONG WAIT TIMES
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Department Store 78%
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Public Transit 64%
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Quick Service Restaurant 58%
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Convenience Store 54%
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Banking Institution 54%
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Medical Institution 50%
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Grocery Store 40%
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With today's slowing economy retailers can't underestimate the influence of the in-store experience on their bottom line. There is a strong relationship between the frustration experienced during long wait times, the likelihood of leaving the store and the chance that the customer will not return to make the intended purchase or again for future purchases. "Competition for most retailers is plentiful. Customers who are leaving stores due to long wait time have other options," said Rob Daniel, President - Managing Director Maritz Research, Canada. "Enhancing the customer experience is the best way for most retailers to set themselves apart and retain customers."

Even in grocery stores, where consumers are investing a significant amount of time selecting products, results show that 40 per cent of customers admitted to leaving without making a purchase. Survey participants indicated that eight minutes is a reasonable wait time in grocery stores and after 15 minutes they would consider leaving.

News travels fast, bad news faster than ever before
Close to 70 per cent of customers surveyed told others about their negative experience and half of those polled noted that they had at some point posted a negative experience online. In a time where shopping research takes place online and people are engaged in social networks to share and collect ideas, retailers are at risk of losing customers before they set foot in the store.

Customer Experience
Customers responded in high volumes to customer service actions that would increase the time they were willing to wait. 82 per cent of those polled would increase their wait time if they felt compassion or apologies were offered for the wait and 67 per cent would wait longer if they were updated on their status. In some cases all that is required is a friendly employee, with 74 per cent of those polled agreeing they would increase their wait time if greeted with a smile. The poll indicates that businesses that introduce extended customer service tactics like offering refreshments, music or reading materials may encourage customers to stay long enough to complete their purchase.

"With 53 per cent saying that leaving a store had an impact on their decision to return, retailers could stand to lose over half of these customers permanently," said Daniel. "What's clear from our results is that businesses can do more to keep customers in the stores and enhance their in-store experience."

Public Sector Wait Times
This survey also investigated wait time experience with the two of the most frequently used public sector services - medical institutions and public transit. Customers indicated a higher tolerance for longer wait times saying they would stay up to 81 minutes before considering leaving a medical institution and up to 22 minutes before considering leaving public transit.

"Wait times is the first indicator of customer experience across multiple sectors and a primary driver of consumer satisfaction whether we are talking about groceries or health care," Daniel added. "It should be top of mind for business when assessing how the needs of customers could be better addressed."

This online Maritz Poll, which was conducted in August 2008, featured responses from 1,306 Canadians randomly selected to participate in this study online. To ensure the data was representative of the Canadian population, data was weighted to Statistics Canada data for several demographic categories including gender, province and age.

Creating a customer focus culture - Easier said than done

Words on the wall and as an outcome of an executive retreat come easy. Taking such words from the wall into the hall is an entirely diferent matter. Many companies have no real idea of the prevailing culture and how this might affect achieving a shift towards the desired culture.

I agree with Rich Mclafferty who wrote in his cusotmer experience blog that there are two cultures that will destroy a customer focus strategy. The first is the culture of fear, and the second is the culture of mediocrity.

"In a culture of mediocrity people show up for work each day but there is a dead look about them. They have no inspiration, no creativity, and no expression — everything looks and feels grey.

Then there is the most destructive and evil culture — fear. People move very slow and quiet. There is little if any talking, mostly whispers. No laughing, no fun. Little if any trust, and eyes constantly darting around to see who’s lurking in the halls. Office doors are always closed, and when the doors open people duck down in their cubes — it’s not good to be seen or heard in a culture of fear."

Like Rich, I have too often seen organizations with these two cultures attempt to implement customer improvement programs without much success. "They say: 'we are all about the customer' but allow these negative cultures to remain in their organization. It sends an incongruent message the employees who in the end don’t care, or are paralyzed by fear to do anything different.

It’s easy to tell when your dealing with people from these two cultures. People that follow rules to the letter, don’t take any risks, and see everything as black and white come from a culture of fear. This usually makes a customer feel frustrated, uptight, and angry.

The experience from a culture of mediocrity leaves you feeling just blah. It’s not good, it’s not bad, it’s not memorable. It leaves a customer feeling a bit drained and uninspired. Let’s not forget, as customers we pay to get to feel this way — it’s not free!

An organization’s culture is the most important factor in the success or failure of a customer experience strategy. To inspire customers you have to have inspired employees, and that inspiration comes from people-centric leadership, and a customer-centric culture.

Think about how many organizations that are known for their people-centric cultures — you can probably count them on one hand. To me that’s pathetic, but it also shows there’s an opportunity for an organization to differentiate themselves from the competition just by changing their culture.

So flip that org chart! Create a culture that cares about people and customers. The result will be more satisfied and loyal customers, and a more vibrant and successful organization."