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Friday, June 17, 2011

No Waiting

I hate waiting.  Customers really hate waiting.  Anymore, we can't help but wonder why everything isn't instant.  Social media, on-demand movies from Netflix, coffee, burgers, prescriptions? are all immediate.  It's our instant gratification society.  I believe I have a few solutions to alter the mindset that prescriptions should be included on this instant list.
Personally, I know when to avoid patronizing certain businesses.  Do not go to banks at 5 pm on Fridays, grocery stores on Saturday mornings, movies on opening nights, or buffets on the first of the month.  The three ways to convince people to avoid peak times in my pharmacy are simple:

1.  Post a sign that says: "WARNING-Peak Times are 11-2 and 4-7, Mondays all day, First of the Month, Days Preceding and Following Holidays.  Wait Times will be longer.  Expect Delays."

2.  We should take a cue from the Department of Transportation and major theme parks.  We could post digital boards outside the store, throughout the store, and at drop-off giving estimated wait times for your order so no one is surprised (yeah, right) when they get to our counter and we tell them "30 minutes".

3.  My last suggestion is to post a "NO WAITING" sign.  When people ask how long? we will tell them "tomorrow".  When they ask about the sign we can calmly and politely inform them "You won't be waiting, you will be home".  We could even go so far as to ask them to reread the sign, explaining it is not an advertisement, but a statement--like "No Loitering".

I like the "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service, No Waiting" idea.

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