When Greg entered the Tax Office, he was thinking only about two things: (1) How he was going to get the tax value on his home reduced, and (2) Whether the wait would be 1 hour or 2.  He checked in with the navigator who asked a few questions, gave him a number, and asked him to take a seat.

After filling out some paperwork on his appeal, Greg had a seat in the waiting room.  He watched some TV, read a magazine with some information for men in their 50s (after all, 50 is the new 40…apparently), and then was greeted by an employee.  The employee updated Greg on his current place in line, what the appeal process would be once Greg met with an appeals coordinator, and asked if Greg had any questions about the paperwork or the process.

After chit-chatting for another minute, the employee said that he’d be back within 10 minutes if Greg had not been brought back, and would give him another update.

About 7-8 minutes later, the employee came by while Greg was looking at some paintings on the walls from local artists, and reading the plaques that noted the history of the areas.  They chatted some more, Greg was told that there was only 1 more person in front of him, and he continued the wait.

When the appeals coordinator came out to greet Greg, she apologized for the wait and appreciated Greg’s patience.  Greg replied: The wait wasn’t too bad – staff were nice, and the waiting area is really interesting.  [then looking at his watch] Oh!  I didn’t realize I’d been here about an hour; seemed like 20-30 minutes!

Wait time is not always perceived to be what it is; if you do a good job of keeping the customer occupied and informed, of showing empathy and respect, even the long waits can feel shorter.

If you can’t shorten the wait, help it to FEEL shorter to the customer.

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