June 25, 2007
Whole Foods Checks Out Faster Than the Competition
Looks can be deceiving. Just walk into the Whole Foods at Columbus Circle in Manhattan and you’ll see a long line of people waiting to check out. They’re queued up in a similar fashion to the people up at airport ticket counters. At first glance, you’d think that the line would take forever but, in reality, it moves much more quickly than having people find a place on line at individual checkouts.
Maggie Fitzgerald was one consumer who first took a look at the line snaking out in front of Whole Foods’ checkouts and said she wanted nothing to do with it. But, she found that even with as many as 50 people on the lead-up line, checking out at the Columbus Circle store went much more quickly than other places where she shopped.
She told The New York Times, “By now, you’d think everyone else would catch onto this.”
Checkout time has always been near the top of customers’ complaints in supermarkets. It becomes even more pronounced in busy, inner city stores. The success that Whole Foods has achieved in moving people through its queues so quickly has caught the attention of competitors.
“It’s very impressive,” Jon Basalone, a senior vice president at Trader Joe’s, told The Times.
Paco Underhill, founder of Envirosell and author of Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, said managing time is extremely important for consumers and therefore it’s critical that retailers help them move on to the next event in their lives.
“We have good clocks in our heads for roughly three minutes,” said Mr. Underhill. “Once we get beyond that, time expands wildly. If somebody is there for 4.5 minutes and you ask them how long they waited, they will say 15 minutes.”
According to The Times, Whole Foods knew it would be faced with challenges at the front-end and spent months working on a plan to keep lines moving. It was during this time period that the company concluded that the standard system, with people queuing up at individual checkouts, would take up too much space in the store and, in the process, slow down those looking to check out and others still shopping.
Slower lines at other stores have consumers considering shopping at Whole Foods, according to The Times. One individual shopping at Whole Foods, Michael Ridgway, claimed to no longer shop at Trader Joe’s.
“The line just does not move and makes it impossible to shop in the store,” he said.
Discussion Questions: How important are fast checkouts to the consumer perception of service received in the store? Does the system being used by the Columbus Circle Whole Foods offer an opportunity for others? Is the current checkout system in grocery stores throughout the U.S. broken?
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The issue is as old as the industry. It has always amazed me that in this area many retailers seem to just be deaf and blind. They fail to listen, fail to see, and fail to execute anything but the same old thing.
Is the experience important? Yes. Absolutely. It’s a system that seems to work for WF at this location. Does it offer an opportunity for others? Careful. The problem with the system is that it may work but the perception battle indicates that it won’t. Execution is key. Too many will see something like this and try it. They will think it’s all about just forming the line–right? The line really has little to do with it. It’s how WF has executed when forming the line itself. Yet, even so, they had a perception that it wouldn’t work by their customers.
Is the current system broken? No! Those that operate it may be broken, but the system isn’t. No matter what you do, it’s all about execution–system is of little matter.
Fast checkouts are seen as the exception in most supermarkets. Either there aren’t enough checkouts open, or not enough cashiers, or both. Consumers want a fast, easy-to-shop store environment. Getting them out quickly (or not) leaves a lasting impression and it sounds like Whole Foods has found another way to create a positive experience with its customers.
Unless I overlooked it no one has commented yet that one of the major REASONS for slow checkout lines at many stores are cashiers having to resolve issues related to computer or pricing glitches. Waiting while the cashier checks the flyer price, calls a manager over because a discount coupon that should work doesn’t work, or sends the bagger back for a different size of product or to verify the shelf price against the computer price takes time and causes aggravation to all those in line. In this day and age such computer incompetence is not acceptable, but happens all the time even in the best of stores. And, in addition to the extra time spent interacting with the cashier, the affected customer often feels embarrassed and frustrated that their order is holding up the line even though it is usually the store’s “fault.”
Such pricing problems at checkout are, in my opinion, one of several reasons self-checkout has not become as accepted as we all thought it would. Whole Foods’ single check-out queue is as good as it gets with respect to “keeping it moving” and creating a fair situation to those waiting in line.
I always remember working as a cashier on Wednesday evenings. Not many people shopped, but they all wanted to leave the supermarket at the same time. It was as if people roamed the store as long as they knew they could leave whenever they were ready. As long as there were no lines, they continued to shop. Then one of them would “break for the front.” Then the stampede started. No one wanted to be the last one in line and have to spend time merely standing there.
The checkout line is very similar to the last step in a restaurant. You can have a great meal, the conversation could have flowed well, the desert may have been fantastic, but now you are being prevented from doing want you want (leave the restaurant) by the payment process.
It just amazes me that businesses don’t recognize the “pain points” for their customers and try to minimize the hurt. The challenge with supermarkets is that all the biases are towards understaffing the front end. Labor scheduling systems will not recognize when there are customers waiting, only when sales per employee hour fall, and reduce the staffing. When you combine this with the “time shift” between when the customers arrive and when they are ready to leave, it is very easy to have the front end staffed at the wrong times.
There are some new tools that track shopping carts and monitor queue lengths. These should help. But as with many solutions it is the people who will make the difference. In this case it is the ingenuity of the front end designers for Whole Foods. But it is also a combination of people and union work rules (all really people based) that will allow other supermarkets to address the checkout issue. Kind of like having inventory in the back room. If you have people doing something else in the store that can also help at the checkout it will make you more flexible. The new tools will tell when they’re needed but you have to have the people available in order to fill the need.
This question is near and dear to my heart as I’m working on a competitive study for a client for this right now. I would say checkout is integrally connected to the shopping experience, which is defined much more broadly/loosely in the customer’s mind. People also put a lot of emphasis on the appearance in the store–if it’s inviting and friendly. And they’re willing to put up with lines and with waiting in lines, if they feel like the staff is doing everything they can to move the line. The reverse of that is true as well–if they feel like employees are not being responsive to a rush, then they get very upset, and feel that the wait time is considerably longer than it actually was.
Actually, the Trader Joe’s on 23rd St in Manhattan DOES have checkout line managers and they are entertaining as well! I have mixed feelings about the issue of quick checkout. On the one hand, you could address it by self scanners. I personally hate those! On the other hand, you could address it by providing a higher service level at checkout, including bagging the shopper’s groceries (a real treat in NY). Why do people try to avoid long lines? Suppose retailers found a way to make this more entertaining and productive, staying within reasonable limits of line length?
Most of the shoppers who shop at Whole Foods are more time-starved than money-starved. With that in mind, Whole Foods created a single line to feed the checkout stands because this is a better way of doing it–as long as you have all of the lines open. But create a one feed line and not have all of the checkout stands open and you have the US Post Office.
The most fascinating thing about Whole Foods checkout line approach is that this method to increasing checkout throughput has been known for a long, long time (I remember studying it more than 27 years ago). The problem has been that looking at the line, most people think (as one person quoted in the article commented) that it will take much longer to navigate than the traditional lane approach. This perception has caused most retailers to hold back from going to the superior approach. Kudos to Whole Foods for taking the plunge in the grocery arena, as Best Buy and others have done in other retail formats. The change points to one tricky factor–although certain things work better, getting the consumers’ perceptions in line with reality may be the most difficult part of the change.
For many people, time is their most precious commodity. In some grocery stores, not only are they excruciatingly slow, the employee is often blank-faced, apathetic and completely unapologetic…sometimes I actually feel that they are enjoying the torture!
This never happens at Whole Foods. If a long line does occur, anyone that shops there knows that they will encounter a very pleasant employee with a sincere apology. The fact that they are actively trying to stay ahead of the issue is no surprise, as they understand the importance of customer service more than most.
That said, Bill’s suggestion above is a great one. Use technology to monitor proactively and avoid the problem altogether!
I’ve experienced the Whole Foods Columbus Circle lines, and the ability to move through the lines quickly is very impressive. But there is more to this story as well. One of the things that Whole Foods does extremely well at this store is merchandise high-margin product strategically placed next to the long lines. As people are waiting, they are able to easily reach for these impulse items (shampoo, books, body lotion, etc.) and place them in their basket. At a recent wait in this line, I observed multiple people adding product to their purchase total. Not only is Whole Foods moving people out of the store quickly, they are merchandising product while they do so. Interestingly enough, many of the Marks and Spencer’s food halls in the UK are set up exactly the same way, and the merchandise that is picked up while people are in queue is significant.
One additional final note on this subject. Is there anything more annoying than waiting in line at the checkout, watching the store manager open a new checkout line, and then having people who are in line behind you rush to that new open cash register? Whole Foods’ system eliminates this final moment of frustration, and makes for a happier customer as they leave the store.
That fact that so many have commented positively on this so fast tells me Whole Foods has done something worth talking about. Another good reason to donate your whole paycheck to them. Look for other retailers to copy this.
Being able to leave the store as soon as you’re finished shopping is a huge convenience and is an advantage for any store. It’s part of the complex of things we call “customer service,” but it may well be that the term is just too imprecise for today’s world.
The system in the new Whole Foods stores is a major step forward in queue management and has broad application. But the real answer here is portable self-scan where all a shopper needs to do is pay at an unattended station and leave. That’s customer service.
No one likes to wait for a computer. Whole Foods’ single line approach is a much more efficient set up than multiple lines. They are to be congratulated for doing what basic queuing theory taught us decades ago.
The real challenge is to achieve no waiting time in their checkout lines. Here’s how to achieve this goal. Install people counters in your entrance ways and retain the number of arrivals in 15 minute intervals over the week. This becomes the vital data point needed to compute number of cashier lanes required. Most supermarkets know the mean shopping time for shoppers at that particular time of the week as well as the number of items typically purchased and the necessary check out time. Multiply these factors together to derive checking lane needs. Then subtract the number of lanes currently scheduled. If there is a deficiency, assign additional cashiers or roll out the lane busting hand held scanners for customers paying with plastic.
To tweak the model, capture the instances when there is buildup. The result will be no waiting time and very efficient use of labor. Also the result is likely to be much higher sales and customer loyalty because no one likes to wait for a computer.
Bill Robinson’s suggestions are excellent–with some basic technology stores can optimize the experience, but also provide a good feedback loop. The same projections can be used in displays of wait times. As noted above, long lines create the perception of a long wait. But if a display in the line shows “approx. 4 min wait from this point” that perception can be corrected.
I love Mel’s line about the Post Office. When they recently raised the first class stamp to 41 cents, they made no effort in my area to add cashiers or maybe an extra line for two cent stamps. They even seemed to move slower and avoid eye contact. Stereotype, I know. So, you can either innovate or be a monopoly!
When my shopping is done I want to leave the store quickly. Do that for me and I will consider it good customer service. Amen.
Customer Service…from the moment a shopper enters the store until the shopper leaves. With that experience is an ongoing feeling that “this store” is providing all I want, when I want and in a format I like. A shopper can and will adjust if the overall product is to their liking. Whole Foods provides a total experience. Without that, a fast checkout line is just a fast checkout line.
Isn’t it Newton’s Fourth Law that says it’s always the line or lane on the left that will move fastest? What will we throw out next–the law of gravity?
The ‘facts’ have little to do with it–what the consumer will have to go through is a mind-set change because right now the subconscious mind assumes long line = long wait. Been that way since Noah boarded the ark. Just a few positive quick experiences will change that however and shoppers will automatically look for “The Line.”
The real key is to have people manning registers as Whole Foods does. The secret is flow. In most department stores right now you: 1)Have to find the register. 2) Look around to find an employee to run it. 3) Listen to an apology about the computers being slow. It still amazes me how many retail stores make it difficult for people to give them money.
Checkout time is the #1 way shoppers measure customer service. Some McDonald’s locations show the average serving time at their POS terminals. A retailer who uses a single consolidated line with multiple checkouts can post the same same data, updated continuously, on a major display for all to see. If people see evidence that the average wait is reasonable, shopper stress and staff stress is minimized.
The Times article was fascinating on several fronts. Certainly food retailers in New York City face more obstacles (less space, more population density) than in any other market in the country…but Whole Foods seems to have figured it out. It’s not just about the “one line” system but also about having enough checkout lanes available to handle that line, as well as a “line manager” to handle the process. For whatever reason (maybe lack of space devoted to registers), Trader Joe is not making the “one line” system work for them. This will give Whole Foods a competitive edge and will doubtless get Trader Joe’s attention.
Front-of-the-store efficiencies are absolutely part of the customer’s perception of good service, whether at a food retailer or a general retailer. It’s no wonder that stores from Target to Kohl’s to JCPenney pay more and more attention to getting customers out the door. It’s not always about staffing checkout lanes but just as much about having time-efficient systems in place when the customer is ready to pay.
I recently had a debate with friends about the “self-checkout” lanes. I am an avid fan, using them at every retailer where they are offered. My colleagues insisted that they didn’t feel they should have to “do it themselves” and that the service (what service?) is part of what they’re paying for. My priority is my rarest commodity–time–making bagging my own groceries, or ringing up my own gum at Wal-Mart preferable to the line at a manned register.
Retailers that find ways to speed the process, whether through more efficient queuing, self-checkout, or the hand held scanners that are being tested will gain and retain shoppers who are looking to squeeze more from every non-work minute.
Whole Foods isn’t a retailer–it’s a state of mind! People shop there AND work there for reasons that go beyond simple grocery shopping and/or working. Customers are willing to put up with lines that are a little longer to be with their peers. When employees manage to make the line move faster (because they actually care about what they are doing and respect the people shopping there) it should be no surprise. If anything, the Whole Foods shopper may be a little disappointed in quick service as it forces them to depart these hallowed grounds a little quicker than they would like.
I agree wholeheartedly with Mark when he comments that “Checkout time is the #1 way shoppers measure customer service,” and several other similar comments above. Nothing frustrates a shopper more than delays in the shopping experience, especially when it comes to the end-game of checkout. Whole Foods has clearly put its efforts toward improving the process, and is being rewarded with increased sales and happy customers.
As for check-out lines being “broken,” I think most people are at the point where they have accepted long lines as mostly unavoidable and a necessary evil of brick and mortar shopping. This presents a huge opportunity: if a retailer such as Whole Foods can clearly crack the challenge of long lines with modern and innovative “line-busting” techniques, they stand to become even more successful than they already have.
Fairway Foods in Manhattan has been using a checkout line manager and on-line system for a number of years. It’s one of the best parts of the experience at the Upper West Side store.
Trader Joe’s could accomplish essentially the same thing by utilizing a checkout line manager during peak hours. It would increase speed of checkout, but would take away from TJ’s laid back, casual store environment.
WHOLE FOODS continues to build on its reputation of providing an enhanced customer experience, and speed of service at check-out is one of the most critical drivers of loyalty among grocery brands. They need to be mindful of customer perception and ideally provide visual cues or signage in order to show the increased speed and efficiency of the new check-out model. It will be interesting to see if this eventually evolves into the even bolder BLOOM MARKETS service approach of providing customers with hand-held scanners allowing them to tally their purchase throughout the shopping trip and pay electronically, avoiding the front-end checkout lane altogether.
Perception of speed at checkout is critical. Managing that perception is a challenge for store managers. Now that the novelty of self checkout kiosks has worn off, I don’t see them used a lot, but there is always someone there checking out. When the other checkout lines are long, there are more people at the self-checkouts. What influences a perception of speed being #4 in a line at a single counter or being #25 in a fast moving line? While the time spent in line may be shorter in the second case, it may be hard for my mind to believe that when there are 25 people in front of me.
I would think this is one of the most critical factors influencing perceptions of a store. It is also the last impression you get–there’s no time to make up for a slow line. Best Buy (at Christmas time) and Sports Authority (all year) use this process. It’s one little thing they can do to keep shoppers away from a slow check-out line, improving their feelings about the store.
Military – DeCA has been doing this forever.
Kenneth Grady seems to be the only one who gets it and is not surprised by the efficiency of the one line system. Anyone who has taken entry level statistics in high school (or earlier) knows the one line system is far quicker than multiple lines. I am surprised when I read about other retailers studying this new way of queing. Perhaps they should have paid attention in class and would not need to study it today. The same goes for the customers and their “perception” of long lines, they should know better as well. This appears to me to be more of an indictment of our public school systems than a radical new idea.
Found this while looking at this article, on the same topic. At this point, of course — after 10 years — all Whole Foods operate this way!
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The issue is as old as the industry. It has always amazed me that in this area many retailers seem to just be deaf and blind. They fail to listen, fail to see, and fail to execute anything but the same old thing.
Is the experience important? Yes. Absolutely. It’s a system that seems to work for WF at this location. Does it offer an opportunity for others? Careful. The problem with the system is that it may work but the perception battle indicates that it won’t. Execution is key. Too many will see something like this and try it. They will think it’s all about just forming the line–right? The line really has little to do with it. It’s how WF has executed when forming the line itself. Yet, even so, they had a perception that it wouldn’t work by their customers.
Is the current system broken? No! Those that operate it may be broken, but the system isn’t. No matter what you do, it’s all about execution–system is of little matter.
Fast checkouts are seen as the exception in most supermarkets. Either there aren’t enough checkouts open, or not enough cashiers, or both. Consumers want a fast, easy-to-shop store environment. Getting them out quickly (or not) leaves a lasting impression and it sounds like Whole Foods has found another way to create a positive experience with its customers.
Unless I overlooked it no one has commented yet that one of the major REASONS for slow checkout lines at many stores are cashiers having to resolve issues related to computer or pricing glitches. Waiting while the cashier checks the flyer price, calls a manager over because a discount coupon that should work doesn’t work, or sends the bagger back for a different size of product or to verify the shelf price against the computer price takes time and causes aggravation to all those in line. In this day and age such computer incompetence is not acceptable, but happens all the time even in the best of stores. And, in addition to the extra time spent interacting with the cashier, the affected customer often feels embarrassed and frustrated that their order is holding up the line even though it is usually the store’s “fault.”
Such pricing problems at checkout are, in my opinion, one of several reasons self-checkout has not become as accepted as we all thought it would. Whole Foods’ single check-out queue is as good as it gets with respect to “keeping it moving” and creating a fair situation to those waiting in line.
I always remember working as a cashier on Wednesday evenings. Not many people shopped, but they all wanted to leave the supermarket at the same time. It was as if people roamed the store as long as they knew they could leave whenever they were ready. As long as there were no lines, they continued to shop. Then one of them would “break for the front.” Then the stampede started. No one wanted to be the last one in line and have to spend time merely standing there.
The checkout line is very similar to the last step in a restaurant. You can have a great meal, the conversation could have flowed well, the desert may have been fantastic, but now you are being prevented from doing want you want (leave the restaurant) by the payment process.
It just amazes me that businesses don’t recognize the “pain points” for their customers and try to minimize the hurt. The challenge with supermarkets is that all the biases are towards understaffing the front end. Labor scheduling systems will not recognize when there are customers waiting, only when sales per employee hour fall, and reduce the staffing. When you combine this with the “time shift” between when the customers arrive and when they are ready to leave, it is very easy to have the front end staffed at the wrong times.
There are some new tools that track shopping carts and monitor queue lengths. These should help. But as with many solutions it is the people who will make the difference. In this case it is the ingenuity of the front end designers for Whole Foods. But it is also a combination of people and union work rules (all really people based) that will allow other supermarkets to address the checkout issue. Kind of like having inventory in the back room. If you have people doing something else in the store that can also help at the checkout it will make you more flexible. The new tools will tell when they’re needed but you have to have the people available in order to fill the need.
This question is near and dear to my heart as I’m working on a competitive study for a client for this right now. I would say checkout is integrally connected to the shopping experience, which is defined much more broadly/loosely in the customer’s mind. People also put a lot of emphasis on the appearance in the store–if it’s inviting and friendly. And they’re willing to put up with lines and with waiting in lines, if they feel like the staff is doing everything they can to move the line. The reverse of that is true as well–if they feel like employees are not being responsive to a rush, then they get very upset, and feel that the wait time is considerably longer than it actually was.
Actually, the Trader Joe’s on 23rd St in Manhattan DOES have checkout line managers and they are entertaining as well! I have mixed feelings about the issue of quick checkout. On the one hand, you could address it by self scanners. I personally hate those! On the other hand, you could address it by providing a higher service level at checkout, including bagging the shopper’s groceries (a real treat in NY). Why do people try to avoid long lines? Suppose retailers found a way to make this more entertaining and productive, staying within reasonable limits of line length?
Most of the shoppers who shop at Whole Foods are more time-starved than money-starved. With that in mind, Whole Foods created a single line to feed the checkout stands because this is a better way of doing it–as long as you have all of the lines open. But create a one feed line and not have all of the checkout stands open and you have the US Post Office.
The most fascinating thing about Whole Foods checkout line approach is that this method to increasing checkout throughput has been known for a long, long time (I remember studying it more than 27 years ago). The problem has been that looking at the line, most people think (as one person quoted in the article commented) that it will take much longer to navigate than the traditional lane approach. This perception has caused most retailers to hold back from going to the superior approach. Kudos to Whole Foods for taking the plunge in the grocery arena, as Best Buy and others have done in other retail formats. The change points to one tricky factor–although certain things work better, getting the consumers’ perceptions in line with reality may be the most difficult part of the change.
For many people, time is their most precious commodity. In some grocery stores, not only are they excruciatingly slow, the employee is often blank-faced, apathetic and completely unapologetic…sometimes I actually feel that they are enjoying the torture!
This never happens at Whole Foods. If a long line does occur, anyone that shops there knows that they will encounter a very pleasant employee with a sincere apology. The fact that they are actively trying to stay ahead of the issue is no surprise, as they understand the importance of customer service more than most.
That said, Bill’s suggestion above is a great one. Use technology to monitor proactively and avoid the problem altogether!
I’ve experienced the Whole Foods Columbus Circle lines, and the ability to move through the lines quickly is very impressive. But there is more to this story as well. One of the things that Whole Foods does extremely well at this store is merchandise high-margin product strategically placed next to the long lines. As people are waiting, they are able to easily reach for these impulse items (shampoo, books, body lotion, etc.) and place them in their basket. At a recent wait in this line, I observed multiple people adding product to their purchase total. Not only is Whole Foods moving people out of the store quickly, they are merchandising product while they do so. Interestingly enough, many of the Marks and Spencer’s food halls in the UK are set up exactly the same way, and the merchandise that is picked up while people are in queue is significant.
One additional final note on this subject. Is there anything more annoying than waiting in line at the checkout, watching the store manager open a new checkout line, and then having people who are in line behind you rush to that new open cash register? Whole Foods’ system eliminates this final moment of frustration, and makes for a happier customer as they leave the store.
That fact that so many have commented positively on this so fast tells me Whole Foods has done something worth talking about. Another good reason to donate your whole paycheck to them. Look for other retailers to copy this.
Being able to leave the store as soon as you’re finished shopping is a huge convenience and is an advantage for any store. It’s part of the complex of things we call “customer service,” but it may well be that the term is just too imprecise for today’s world.
The system in the new Whole Foods stores is a major step forward in queue management and has broad application. But the real answer here is portable self-scan where all a shopper needs to do is pay at an unattended station and leave. That’s customer service.
No one likes to wait for a computer. Whole Foods’ single line approach is a much more efficient set up than multiple lines. They are to be congratulated for doing what basic queuing theory taught us decades ago.
The real challenge is to achieve no waiting time in their checkout lines. Here’s how to achieve this goal. Install people counters in your entrance ways and retain the number of arrivals in 15 minute intervals over the week. This becomes the vital data point needed to compute number of cashier lanes required. Most supermarkets know the mean shopping time for shoppers at that particular time of the week as well as the number of items typically purchased and the necessary check out time. Multiply these factors together to derive checking lane needs. Then subtract the number of lanes currently scheduled. If there is a deficiency, assign additional cashiers or roll out the lane busting hand held scanners for customers paying with plastic.
To tweak the model, capture the instances when there is buildup. The result will be no waiting time and very efficient use of labor. Also the result is likely to be much higher sales and customer loyalty because no one likes to wait for a computer.
Bill Robinson’s suggestions are excellent–with some basic technology stores can optimize the experience, but also provide a good feedback loop. The same projections can be used in displays of wait times. As noted above, long lines create the perception of a long wait. But if a display in the line shows “approx. 4 min wait from this point” that perception can be corrected.
I love Mel’s line about the Post Office. When they recently raised the first class stamp to 41 cents, they made no effort in my area to add cashiers or maybe an extra line for two cent stamps. They even seemed to move slower and avoid eye contact. Stereotype, I know. So, you can either innovate or be a monopoly!
When my shopping is done I want to leave the store quickly. Do that for me and I will consider it good customer service. Amen.
Customer Service…from the moment a shopper enters the store until the shopper leaves. With that experience is an ongoing feeling that “this store” is providing all I want, when I want and in a format I like. A shopper can and will adjust if the overall product is to their liking. Whole Foods provides a total experience. Without that, a fast checkout line is just a fast checkout line.
Isn’t it Newton’s Fourth Law that says it’s always the line or lane on the left that will move fastest? What will we throw out next–the law of gravity?
The ‘facts’ have little to do with it–what the consumer will have to go through is a mind-set change because right now the subconscious mind assumes long line = long wait. Been that way since Noah boarded the ark. Just a few positive quick experiences will change that however and shoppers will automatically look for “The Line.”
The real key is to have people manning registers as Whole Foods does. The secret is flow. In most department stores right now you: 1)Have to find the register. 2) Look around to find an employee to run it. 3) Listen to an apology about the computers being slow. It still amazes me how many retail stores make it difficult for people to give them money.
Checkout time is the #1 way shoppers measure customer service. Some McDonald’s locations show the average serving time at their POS terminals. A retailer who uses a single consolidated line with multiple checkouts can post the same same data, updated continuously, on a major display for all to see. If people see evidence that the average wait is reasonable, shopper stress and staff stress is minimized.
The Times article was fascinating on several fronts. Certainly food retailers in New York City face more obstacles (less space, more population density) than in any other market in the country…but Whole Foods seems to have figured it out. It’s not just about the “one line” system but also about having enough checkout lanes available to handle that line, as well as a “line manager” to handle the process. For whatever reason (maybe lack of space devoted to registers), Trader Joe is not making the “one line” system work for them. This will give Whole Foods a competitive edge and will doubtless get Trader Joe’s attention.
Front-of-the-store efficiencies are absolutely part of the customer’s perception of good service, whether at a food retailer or a general retailer. It’s no wonder that stores from Target to Kohl’s to JCPenney pay more and more attention to getting customers out the door. It’s not always about staffing checkout lanes but just as much about having time-efficient systems in place when the customer is ready to pay.
I recently had a debate with friends about the “self-checkout” lanes. I am an avid fan, using them at every retailer where they are offered. My colleagues insisted that they didn’t feel they should have to “do it themselves” and that the service (what service?) is part of what they’re paying for. My priority is my rarest commodity–time–making bagging my own groceries, or ringing up my own gum at Wal-Mart preferable to the line at a manned register.
Retailers that find ways to speed the process, whether through more efficient queuing, self-checkout, or the hand held scanners that are being tested will gain and retain shoppers who are looking to squeeze more from every non-work minute.
Whole Foods isn’t a retailer–it’s a state of mind! People shop there AND work there for reasons that go beyond simple grocery shopping and/or working. Customers are willing to put up with lines that are a little longer to be with their peers. When employees manage to make the line move faster (because they actually care about what they are doing and respect the people shopping there) it should be no surprise. If anything, the Whole Foods shopper may be a little disappointed in quick service as it forces them to depart these hallowed grounds a little quicker than they would like.
I agree wholeheartedly with Mark when he comments that “Checkout time is the #1 way shoppers measure customer service,” and several other similar comments above. Nothing frustrates a shopper more than delays in the shopping experience, especially when it comes to the end-game of checkout. Whole Foods has clearly put its efforts toward improving the process, and is being rewarded with increased sales and happy customers.
As for check-out lines being “broken,” I think most people are at the point where they have accepted long lines as mostly unavoidable and a necessary evil of brick and mortar shopping. This presents a huge opportunity: if a retailer such as Whole Foods can clearly crack the challenge of long lines with modern and innovative “line-busting” techniques, they stand to become even more successful than they already have.
Fairway Foods in Manhattan has been using a checkout line manager and on-line system for a number of years. It’s one of the best parts of the experience at the Upper West Side store.
Trader Joe’s could accomplish essentially the same thing by utilizing a checkout line manager during peak hours. It would increase speed of checkout, but would take away from TJ’s laid back, casual store environment.
WHOLE FOODS continues to build on its reputation of providing an enhanced customer experience, and speed of service at check-out is one of the most critical drivers of loyalty among grocery brands. They need to be mindful of customer perception and ideally provide visual cues or signage in order to show the increased speed and efficiency of the new check-out model. It will be interesting to see if this eventually evolves into the even bolder BLOOM MARKETS service approach of providing customers with hand-held scanners allowing them to tally their purchase throughout the shopping trip and pay electronically, avoiding the front-end checkout lane altogether.
Perception of speed at checkout is critical. Managing that perception is a challenge for store managers. Now that the novelty of self checkout kiosks has worn off, I don’t see them used a lot, but there is always someone there checking out. When the other checkout lines are long, there are more people at the self-checkouts. What influences a perception of speed being #4 in a line at a single counter or being #25 in a fast moving line? While the time spent in line may be shorter in the second case, it may be hard for my mind to believe that when there are 25 people in front of me.
I would think this is one of the most critical factors influencing perceptions of a store. It is also the last impression you get–there’s no time to make up for a slow line. Best Buy (at Christmas time) and Sports Authority (all year) use this process. It’s one little thing they can do to keep shoppers away from a slow check-out line, improving their feelings about the store.
Military – DeCA has been doing this forever.
Kenneth Grady seems to be the only one who gets it and is not surprised by the efficiency of the one line system. Anyone who has taken entry level statistics in high school (or earlier) knows the one line system is far quicker than multiple lines. I am surprised when I read about other retailers studying this new way of queing. Perhaps they should have paid attention in class and would not need to study it today. The same goes for the customers and their “perception” of long lines, they should know better as well. This appears to me to be more of an indictment of our public school systems than a radical new idea.
Found this while looking at this article, on the same topic. At this point, of course — after 10 years — all Whole Foods operate this way!