I was standing in line at the express checkout the other day wondering why so many adults could not count to twelve when a clerk waved me over to a cash register that she had just opened. The store manager had just called for more checkers and baggers and they appeared from out of the aisles to handle the sudden increase in shoppers. Shoppers do not like waiting in line to give their money to the store.
It is somewhat like dining out at a nice restaurant and after a fine meal with excellent service, you sit there waiting for the bill so you can leave a generous tip and get home to watch Corner Gas. The longer I wait, the smaller the tip.
Down at the local seat of government most days you can go in to pay a parking ticket or make a down payment on your tax bill and not have to wait at all before a clerk takes your money. It seems that they are very efficient at City Hall. But then I started wondering what these people do when there are no customers since they have no shelves to stock with Campbell’s soup or cans of Pepsi. I guess they shuffle and file papers or tidy up in the back room.
It sure would be nice to have that kind of service at the grocery store. Or would it? If they always had extra staff on hand to keep the checkout lines down to one or two shoppers, they might just be carrying too many staff. Where is that fine line between good service and excessive service? This may sound like an odd question until you realize that you are paying the wages for that service.
If you went to a garage to have your vehicle repaired and they could take you right away because they were not busy, would you wonder what kind of service you were going to get? Were the mechanics so good and fast that they could keep up to the customers or were they so bad that no one went to their shop? If the service is too good and you do not have to wait, there may be more to the story.
I was recently out of town for a few days when I realized my hair had taken a sudden growth burst and I ought to have a haircut before a meeting. I finally found a shoppe with the striped pole and a sign that advertised three barbers on duty. Opening the door I saw a line of long-haired men sitting and waiting for a trim. A quick count said twelve people were waiting or four per barber so I turned to leave thinking I could find another shoppe. One of the barbers called out, take seat it will only be about fifteen minutes.
Now these guys may have been fast but there is no way I wanted anything less that a ten minute haircut. I know there is no NHL to talk about but politics has to be good for a few minutes of conversation with your barber. Besides, a quick trim on the moustache that leaves you with a lopsided grin for three days, is no bargain.
Waiting in line at the Emergency at the hospital is expected now because we know they are understaffed. And we certainly do not want ‘rushed’ service when our number is called. If you look particularly distressed, they will bump you ahead of someone who is only leaking small amounts of blood. We likely do need a few more doctors or interns at the hospital but the administration does not have the money to over-staff despite the serious business they are running.
We all expect to wait for telephone assistance, whether it is for a fix on a computer problem or advice on how much you can deduct as expenses on your income tax. But when you are number 128 on the waiting list for the Microsoft Help folk or when you were caught up in the Gun Registry fiasco a few years ago, something is wrong.
Perhaps a short wait for service is a good thing. It might just be the sign that the business is being run efficiently. That does not mean I want to stand waiting while two clerks ignore me and discuss last night’s date because at that point I am just liable to start looking for a manager.
And I will wait to talk to the manager.