Devoted to customer service and the principles of exceptional customer services

Michael Hyatt, the President and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers tells a tale of long lines and lost sales at a couple bookstores.  Michael also brings up a word that I've never heard before in a retail context:  friction.  He got the word from a book titled Waiting For Your Cat to Bark?.  In this book friction is defined as anything that slows down or interferes with the customer from completing a transaction.  Michael illustrates how friction came into play at these bookstores because there was only one cashier and a long line.  That seems to be the case with some of the bookstores in San Diego as well...

However, from my experience as a cashier I can say that it's weird how one minute there could be absolutely no line and it could be that way for an hour or so - then all of a sudden there's ten people in line!  Then another hour goes by with nobody to ring up and then there would be five people in line.  I always used to think it was some kind of conspiracy amongst the shoppers...Hey, let's all go to the cashier at the same time and make her crazy!  Yeah, let's do that!