It’s RUDE to make people wait. And costly.

DMDC, the Defense Manpower Data Center, handles issuing security credentials for the Department of Homeland Security. “People show up at the enrollment centers at different times on different days,” explains Rick Pratt, identification management specialist at Electronic Data Systems (EDS), the prime contractor supporting the Defense Department’s (DoD’s) card issuing process. “The centers would be empty some days, and some days they would be packed.” DMDC has about 900 sites with more than 2,000 workstations issuing common access cards (CACs.) Issuing the identification takes about 15 minutes if there are no delays, but applicants sometimes reported waiting five hours due to long lines.

Wouldn’t that just frustrate you? And if it were a store, wouldn’t it affect your loyalty?

Well, they installed a TimeTrade appointment scheduling system, and now that doesn’t happen. People who need credentials go online and make an appointment 24/7. They check their calendar at their leisure, see what slots are available, and pick one. No more wondering how long they’ll be away from the office, no more walking in and going “Oh crap” when they see the lines.

Does it work? DMDC did what everyone should do: they asked their “customers.” In a large-scale online survey, 95% of respondents said they’d recommend self-service appointment scheduling to others. Reasons included ease of use, efficient use of their time, and elimination of unpredictable in-person wait times.

In other words, 95% of people surveyed like it when rudeness is replaced with good customer service. We doubt we’ll win a Nobel for that discovery, but you do have to ask: Why doesn’t everyone do it?

Posted by cterry