Know What Works Blog

Yesterday, I was doing some Christmas Shopping for my daughter at Forever 21 and after I had selected the items that I wanted to purchase I walked to the end of the line.  I waited at least 20 minutes to check out, and I thought to myself ‘there is no way that I am doing this again’.   If I would have seen the line prior to walking in the store, I would have gone somewhere else. 

There are too many choices for consumers to spend money, and it is amazing that when it comes to collecting it, many companies don’t know when they are destroying the goodwill that the shopping experience may have created. 

A month or so ago, my husband, daughter, and I were shopping at Apple, and again, it took forever to pay because we were getting a computer for our company, and businesses get a discount.  When we mentioned this, the staff seemed caught off guard.  We had to fill out a form, managers had to approve it.  We were very close to walking out without a computer because it took about an hour to check out. Interestingly enough, we were very excited that the Apple store had opened locally, so our enthusiasm definitely dimmed when we realized that it wasn’t going to be easy. 

Many companies don’t give much thought to the experience of paying for merchandise.  They assume that if the customer got so far as the payment line, that they are going to complete the transaction.  And, most likely they will.  But, they may think twice about returning any time soon.  They may mention to a friend:  “I really liked that store, but you have to wait forever to check out”. 

Why make it difficult for someone to give you their money?

On the flip side, a long payment line gives the impression to potential customers, that the store is popular, and that they may be missing something.  So, if there is a long payment line, make it fun for the people who are waiting or create ways to make it go as fast as possible.  Learn the busy times, and increase staff during those times.  The more customers who you are able to accomodate will pay for the extra staff personnel. 

Barnes and Nobel is very good about handling long lines.  When the check out line gets to a certain point, they often call for assistance.  This makes me feel that they have everything under control.

How do customers like your process for accepting payment?  You’ll have to ask.  They probably won’t tell you.

I welcome your comments.