How The Bike Shop enhances service delivery in their stores with WaitWell

the bike shop in calgary improves efficiency with a queue system

The Bike Shop uses WaitWell to help their staff, without jeopardizing customer service

The Bike Shop in Calgary initially implemented WaitWell to streamline service delivery at their South location. Once customers join the line, they choose a specific service type and are directed to the best staff member. The staff knows exactly which customers need help, when to help them and how to make their experience quick and painless. Now, The Bike Shop uses WaitWell for not only service delivery, but also to receive deep business insights with their reporting tool.

Overview

The Bike Shop is Calgary’s go-to store when it comes to purchasing or servicing bicycles or other cycling accessories. With lots of traffic into their store, they wanted a way to manage different service types and staff expertise.

WaitWell gives customers the opportunity to browse around the store instead while waiting for service. It also lets staff focus on the task at hand, instead of being interrupted by customers asking questions. According to The Bike Shop staff, the organization and service delivery opportunities WaitWell provides are unmatched.

Business Challenge

The Bike Shop reached out to WaitWell in September of 2021 to find a way to organize and streamline their service delivery. They had high volumes of customer traffic with no way of reducing crowding. They wanted customers to be able to walk around the store and browse while waiting for service. 

They also wanted a way to manage service types and staff specialties, without jeopardizing customer service. Service analytics and customer data were a bonus for The Bike Shop as they wanted insights into the busiest days for service and how to properly staff their stores.

the bike shop store location

Solution and Results

The Bike Shop and WaitWell worked together to tailor a solution, perfect for their business needs. Customers join the line through signage with a QR code attached. This gives staff an accurate count of customers needing service and they can easily see the workload right in front of them. Staff can then structure their day accordingly and have a more productive workday. It also gives customers an accurate wait time from the moment they walk in. Customers wander around the shop and browse other products until they get a text message that there is a staff member ready to assist them. Visitors also have the ability to join the line from home and arrive just in time for service, getting rid of crowding and lineups in the store. WaitWell saved thousands of customers from waiting in line in the first six months of using it. 

The Bike Shop uses a triaging system where customers are able to clarify their service needs before waiting in line. This makes it simple for the best staff to help each customer and increases productivity in the store. Not every staff member has expertise in all store offerings, so this makes it simple to ensure customers get the best service experience possible. The Bike Shop staff said that WaitWell makes their store look more organized and professional to customers and that they love the convenience WaitWell provides to them. 

As a manager, Jeff Sears loves the ability to see what is happening in his stores from just a glance of the screen. 

“As a manager, when I am not in the physical space I get the pop-up in the corner of my screen, and I can see if things are getting hectic,” he said. “ I can then jump in and help.” 

He also loves the ability to see data that he wouldn’t be able to see any other way, such as customer traffic and service times. He can also see if people decided to step out of line and any missed opportunities the store had each day. 

Sears describes the implementation of WaitWell as “straightforward and intuitive”. He said that “the folks at WaitWell were readily available to answer any questions and fix small issues or personalizations with the platform very quickly.” 


He describes it as a truly “pain-free” experience and that he is able to have someone that has come from another location, that has never used WaitWell before, pick it up immediately and start using it perfectly.

“WaitWell is straightforward and intuitive. The folks at WaitWell were readily available to answer any questions and fix small issues or personalizations with the platform very quickly.”

-Jeff Sears, General Service Manager at The Bike Shop