Using Distractions to Boost the Customer Experience

One of the top customer service complaints is wait time. People simply do not like to wait. It’s not that we lack patience, but that we enjoy instantaneous satisfaction. Companies know that quickly solving customer problems is important on several fronts. However, it’s the sweet spot between knowing it and doing it well where many companies stumble.

Until we reach the point where satisfaction comes at the push of a button, people just have to wait. It’s inevitable and sometimes even purposeful, but that doesn’t mean your customers must feel like they’re waiting. An easy way to keep customers content while they’re waiting is to use the art of distraction.

From magazines in waiting rooms, mirrors in elevators, to trinkets in the grocery store aisle, distracting customers is not a new tactic. Buffalo Wild Wings has gone beyond the traditional solutions and with the help of market research, the company found a new way to enhance the customer experience.

Buffalo Wild Wings has the recipe for a good time – wings, sports, and beverages – and on any given night, everyone seems to know it. For a restaurant chain with more than two dozen TVs in each location, you wouldn’t think that its concept is in need of any more distractions. The company thought otherwise, and it started handing out iPads to customers last year.

To understand why Buffalo Wild Wings did this you must understand their customer base. Sports television and food is a match made in heaven for many men. The company believed more women would be interested in the iPads while the men are watching sports.

When first launched last year, the tablets were tested as an ordering and entertainment system. While some suspect they are the future of restaurant food ordering, Tim Murphy, Buffalo Wild Wing’s director of international business, believes the technology could free up employees to better manage customer service issues.

The iPads feature trivia and games that you can play with a group of friends or others in the restaurant. They create an interactive and competitive environment that fills the gap between anticipation and satisfaction. In fact, it’s close to what Chuck-E-Cheese has mastered for decades – only for adults.

Beyond just the games themselves, Buffalo Wild Wings asks users to sign up for a simple account with an email address. This adds them to a mailing list with promotional events, news, and customer satisfaction surveys. It wraps sales, branding, and customer engagement all up in one neat package.

What can companies learn from Buffalo Wild Wings? It’s a classic example of recognizing consumer behavior and applying it to core strengths. Revealing where these synergies exist is how NBRI delivers actionable results to each customer satisfaction survey client. If your company wants to pursue a new strategy, but needs the research to move forward, contact us today.