Last night my wife and I seized the chance to squeeze in a rare movie date after our daughter’s soccer playoff and during her first Y-dance.

Before picking her up, we slipped into the Starbuck’s next to the theater to order a quick jolt and a pound to go. But something was lost in the translation. We got our drinks in a timely manner, but the server went on break, forgetting to grind our French Roast.

I brought this to the attention of her colleague, who tracked down the errant grinder. Having confirmed our order, the more-on-the-ball employee apologized for the inconvenience, and volunteered two coupons good for future drinks of our choice—probably a six-to-eight dollar value.

She recognized the VALUE OF OUR TIME, and she was willing to compensate us, with more than words, for having robbed us of ten minutes.

Time is becoming increasingly important to everyone. And, to echo an often expressed sentiment, no one has more than 24 hours in a day to use or abuse.

Moreover, wasting a customer’s time can turn them away as fast as outright rudeness.

For instance, last week I set an appointment to get my car serviced under warranty. It was due for an oil change and a few standard adjustments. Plus, I mentioned to the person with whom I set the appointment that the car’s rear windshield wiper was moving in erratic ways.

I also asked for a loan car. At that point, he balked and said that one might not be available right away, and that I have to arrange for a rental vehicle, instead.

“No way!” I retorted. “I’m not going to wonder whether I’ll get a car when I get there. If you can’t guarantee it, I’ll go to a closer dealership.”

He recanted immediately, vowing to have a car for me, and as it turned out, he did. But he still found a way to waste my time.

He called in the afternoon and said the standard service was performed but that they’d have to order the wiper’s assembly and that could take three days. If I wanted it fixed, I’d have to return on another day.

I had already invested 45 minutes in traffic to drop the car. That afternoon, I’d invest 30 to pick it up again, and then I’d have to do the whole thing over again on a new day.

Here’s the amazing part of the tale. The service “advisor” who broke this bad news thought he was doing me a favor, reminding me that the loaner, the parts, and the labor would be free.

Baloney! I was paying a time-and-frustration premium to get the work done, and I wouldn’t be compensated for it.

They should have taken me at my word when I set the appointment and said the wiper was haywire. They could have checked their parts inventory, and seen to it that it would be on hand for my appointment a few days hence.

In other words, I wasn’t setting up a dealer-diagnosis of my car’s problem. I was coming in for an actual repair.

I’ve purchased five cars from that dealership, but I’ll never go out of my way again to award it with my business.

How is your organization working toward reducing customer transaction times? If you aren’t constantly seeking new economies in this area, you’re missing an opportunity to satisfy your clients while significantly cutting your costs.

One of our key objectives at Customersatisfaction.com is to make transactions more productive and more satisfying for everyone.

For instance, we know how to routinely make service and sales conversations up to 37% shorter. Our clients are able to handle higher transaction volumes with the same staff or reduce employee headcount, depending upon their objectives and circumstances.

Bottom line: This can save millions of dollars at sites that have as few as 100 people.

To satisfy our customers we should listen to what customers are telling us. But we should also tune into what they aren’t telling us in so many words.

In many cases it’s, “Don’t waste my time!”

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