My wife decided to stop by the post office last Friday to mail a couple of packages for a client. It was probably around 12:30pm or so when she arrived. She stated that there were about 15 people in line, 2 post office clerks available with one of the two closings her window.

The customers understandably became agitated with the situation as it appeared that their presence was not important nor was the need to service them quickly important either. It appears that the least amount of post office clerks was available during a heavy customer traffic period.

If you think about it, most people go to the post office on their lunch break, which means that the post office clerks’ lunch breaks should not be scheduled during the most busy period of the day.

One customer became upset with the explanation of why it takes so long for an express package to be delivered. He stated that he could deliver the package himself quicker than the express mail to which the supervisor responded ” Then do it then!” Wow! If your business has fluctuating periods of customer walk-in or phone traffic, are you monitoring your busy periods to insure that your customers are not kept waiting unnecessarily? Are your customer service personnel trained properly on how to handle customer concerns? Are they familiar with your products and services? It could mean the difference between being successful/profitable or no longer in business.

Errol

www.errolallenconsulting.com