Message Greeter vs. a Real Human Being: Driving Away the Drive-Thru Customer
It's happened to all of us: You're sitting in a line of cars waiting hungrily to order lunch at a local fast food restaurant. The voice at the drive-thru speaker asks for your order, and you tell them want you want. Then a new voice comes over the speaker with a reply. What happened to the first person, you wonder. Somehow you feel tricked, cranky, even aggravated.
The practice of recording a greeter message as though a human being was already serving the customer has become customary. In many cases, the result is an annoyed customer, exactly opposite of what was intended: In our zeal to expedite service, it seems these messages "turn off" our customers. Yes, the recorded message is a clever tactic to get immediate attention and may also shave a second or two from the time it takes to engage the customer, but it can sacrifice feelings of trust.
So how do you use the message to offer pertinent information while not irritating the hungry customer?
A greeter can be used creatively in ways that will both engage the customer and reinforce trust. Making announcements regarding specials of the month or value of the day is great so long as the announcements don't end with a question, making the customer think a response is expected. Another great option is a standardized corporate message generated for all stores.
The Marsh 614 Greeter has 9 different programmable message slots for flexibility and time management. The message recorded in slot # one might be : "Welcome to the Batavia McDonald's. We're serving breakfast right now; you might want to try our new oatmeal with apples and raisins. An associate is ready to take your order...".
In slot #2 you might record: "We're glad you chose Batavia McDonald's this afternoon; the original chicken sandwich is on special, two for the price of one. Please order whenever you're ready..."
With some advance planning a manager can record a month of planned messages within a few minutes in those nine slots. Customized messaged for week #'s 1-4 for both the morning and afternoon specials will take 8 slots, leaving room available for an afterhours message to be recorded such as: "Thank you for visiting the Batavia McDonald's. Breakfast is served from 6AM to 11AM. We're here to serve you each day until midnight. Sorry that you missed us. Don't forget, Friday's free medium McCafe coffee from 5-8PM".
The 614 Message Greeter can assist you in enticing your customers with daily specials and driving more traffic to your store, ....without driving away your drive-thru customers.
