Hair Customers Hate To Wait

Hair Customers Hate To Wait

It’s the age old question for small business in any city – how do you keep existing customers happy and attract new ones?  The answer- Don’t Make Them Wait!

A recent survey commissioned by a well-known hair company - Great Clips Online Check-in - shows how much customers truly hate to wait.  Great Clips is the first ever hair salon brand to have an app that lets you check in via smart phone or computer

Check out the results below:

- 94% of those surveyed say they don’t want to wait more than 5 – 10 minutes at a retail business such as a hair establishment.

- Make a customer wait fifteen minutes or longer and 63% of those surveyed say it shows bad customer service and a lack of respect for their time while 52% say they will take their business elsewhere and almost half say they assume the business is badly managed.

-87% say they’d use a technology that cut down their wait and 2/3 say they’d download an app that saved their place in line at a retail business so they wouldn’t have to wait.

New Survey Reveals How Much Local Customers Hate to Wait!

Most customers, waiting for hair services or other retail services won’t wait more than ten minutes.  Whether it's for a hair cut or other retail service, customers hate to wait.

In a new national survey* commissioned by Great Clips Online Check- In:

• 76% of respondents say a wait any longer than five to ten minutes at a retail business is unreasonable.

• 94% say a reasonable amount of time to wait at a retail business is 5 – 10 minutes or less.

If a retail business makes them wait fifteen minutes or longer:

• 63% say it shows bad customer service and a lack of respect for their time.

• 52% say they take their business elsewhere

• 48% say they assume the business is not well run and badly managed.

When asked what bothered them the most about a retailer:

Most often ranked as the #1 annoyance (in order):

• A rude staff

• They made me wait

• I paid too much

In other survey findings:

• 87% of respondents say they would use a technology that kept them from waiting in line at a retail stores if it saved them 15 minutes of waiting.

• 2 out of 3 respondents say they would use online check-in or download an app that saved their place in line at a retail business.

The survey also asked respondents for the most annoying time waster in their lives.

Most often ranked as the #1 annoyance (in order):

• Getting Placed on Hold

• Waiting in Line

• Sitting in Traffic

Great Clips Hair Salon Brand Introduces Time Saving Online Check-In

Great Clips, a local hair salon brand and the first ever to introduce time saving online check-in, asked consumers about waiting as part of a campaign to introduce the new online check-in app.

The technology, which allows customers to check in from their desktops or smart phones, has trimmed haircut wait times from about fifteen minutes to five minutes, so customers can pretty much walk right in with little or no wait.

“In all our research, in focus group after focus group, we hear that today’s busy singles and families alike are stressed out, exhausted and short on time – and today, time is money,” says Rhoda Olsen, CEO of Great Clips. “Online check-in gives people back those few extra minutes that can take your day from good to great.”

Online check-in is already gaining steam, with more than one million customers checking in online in 2011.  In 2012, that number is even greater with an average 200,000 checking in online per month. With more than 80,000 new downloads of the app each month, it’s clear customers find it helpful.

About Great Clips, Inc.

Great Clips, Inc. was established in 1982 in Minneapolis. Today, Great Clips has more than 3,100 salons throughout the United States and Canada, making it the world’s largest salon brand.

Great Clips salons employ nearly 30,000 stylists who receive ongoing training to learn advanced skills and the latest trends. Make Great Clips your choice for value-priced, high-quality haircare for men, women and children.

No appointments needed, and salons are open nights and weekends. And, it’s more convenient than ever with Great Clips’ Online Check-In.

To check in online, visit www.greatclips.com or download the app for Android and iPhone. For more information about Great Clips, Inc. or to find a location near you, visit www.greatclips.com.

About Great Clips’ Online Check-In

Great Clips’ Online Check-In feature is powered by ICS Net Check In™, a patent-pending, internet-based technology platform developed by Innovative Computer Software. Online Check-in allows customers to remotely log in from a computer or smart phone and view the estimated wait time at surrounding salons.

Consumers can click the “check in” icon to add their name to the list at the Great Clips salon of their choice, and by the time they arrive they are likely next or almost next in line – saving precious time they might have spent waiting in the lobby for their haircut.

*This online survey was done by a third party.  The survey included 316 respondents, 172 female and 144 male (ages 30 -55).  *Full survey data available upon request.