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Taking efficiency too far
Retailers are learning from 20th-century assembly lines, according to the WSJ. Major chains are measuring employees' efficiency down to the second, much like Frederick Taylor did in his studies a hundred years ago.
Reporting from one grocery chain...
[the] system has spurred many to hurry up -- and has dialed up stress levels along the way. Mr. Gunther, who is 22 years old, says he recently told a longtime customer that he couldn't chat with her anymore during checkout because he was being timed. "I was told to get people in and out," he says. Other cashiers say they avoid eye contact with shoppers and generally hurry along older or infirm customers who might take longer to unload carts and count money.
Here's where a holistic view of business would have recommended a different path. The customer experience is largely determined by the employee experience. If employees are rushed - and are rushing slower customers - what does that do to the environment in the store? Is it really worth saving a few cents?
Interesting. While there is never a good excuse for rushing infirm peoplem, one could argue that a grocery store is, in fact, an assembly line. In many cases, efficiency is the only reason to go there (unless the grocery chain store has driven out the traditional merchants, in which case people no longer have a choice). The only reason I would ever set foot in a grocery store is because I'm in a hurry. It's not going to have the best of anything (unless it's Whole Foods, Wegmans, or that ilk). I would be livid if people were having extended conversations - that's what butcher shops and bakeries are for. That said, timing the cashiers will make them sullen and resentful, creating a poisoned atmosphere. So how to solve such a problem?
In short, yes. It is worth it, if that is the business model.
There is room for both styles. We should have friendly, human-focused services where we can shop in a more human way, and we should also have timed-to-the-second services where we know we are going to get a fast, efficiency-over-everything experience. We should be able to pick which style we want on any given Saturday. There is room in the marketplace for both.
In short, I would like BOTH styles of grocery stores, banks, and other services. Perhaps both styles could be available within a single store...
Yes, I really prefer a longer wait. If service is not brisk, it might as well be leisurely -- that way, if I'm in a rush I have plenty of time for my irritation to grow, crest in a wave of suppressed anger, subside, and eventually dissipate in a pool of Buddha-like calm. Not everyone has such a deeply developed self awareness of their own possibilities for patience and personal growth while waiting in line, though, so in a spirit of generous egalitarianism I'm all in favor of stores saving, as you so narrowly put it, "a few cents". Or they could make it back by charging me a dollar not to wait in line at all. I'd pay.
Well yes, and what about all the repetitive stress injuries their insurance will need to take care of? Carpal tunnel injuries will go rampant, mark my words!
I think most people in today's fast paced society, myself included, don't want to waste any more time than is absolutely necessary in the store. I have friends and family I can talk to. In fact, while waiting in line, I sometimes call up a friend just to chat and catch up and kill the boredom. If a person is that interested in talking with the cashier, they can always do it on their own time, not on others. However, in a community where some people may prefer to wait in line longer in order to be able to talk with someone, which would be most if not all communities, perhaps something to the order of 10-15% of the lines should be devoted to those people. For the rest of the shoppers who want to be in and out as quickly as possible, I like the idea of keeping things moving.
On the other hand, it irritates and insults me when the cashier grabs some of my bags, walks around the turnstile, and puts them in my cart. I'm not an invalid, I think I can manage picking up those two bags, turning around, and depositing them in the cart myself. Meanwhile, I'm waiting on them to push the credit button. Having to ask them to do this, which they obviously have to do all the time and should be ready for it, yet almost never are, is my biggest pet peeve.
The best part of the article is at the end when an employee describes how she works the system. I love it. Humans love games and every time we keep score on anything (measure) the tendency is to win. Good post.
If the line is short, take your time. If the line is long, speed is a courtesy to the other shoppers.
Mark, you are an island of sanity in an ocean of business insanity. I hope you write a book on customer experience, and even more, I hope that it catches on as the new (old) way to do business.