1. Why Should I Accommodate Children?

If You Manage a Sales Floor or Showroom

You must address the conflict that arises when a customer is accompanied by a child.  The Parent/Customer’s attention is torn between their child and the business transaction.

Successfully managing conflict results in

increased sales and improved customer satisfaction

If You Manage a Waiting Environment

You need to preserve a pleasant atmosphere and waiting experience.  Unoccupied children often ruin efforts to provide a controlled environment for your customers and staff.

Successfully enhancing the atmosphere results in

lower anxiety levels and more repeat business

If Your Business Frequently Hosts Children

You need to provide the best customer service possible, which means offering activities that keep children under control.  This shows your customers you care and value their business.

Successfully catering to children results in improved customer relations and a stronger perception of your business.

Eliminate Conflict & Retain Prospects

The Parent/Customer Dynamic

The first step to eliminating conflict is understanding the Parent/Customer Dynamic.

You want a customer’s attention, but so does their child.

It is a tricky tug-of-war, with your customer in the middle.

The next step is to take action to engage children and end the competition for attention.

By utilizing items designed to distract a child, you can more easily complete the transaction and provide better customer service.

Simply ignoring children or expecting your customers will adequately deal with them sets you up for failure.

What’s at stake?

Sales Revenue

Expenses incurred by attracting prospects

Customer Satisfaction

Your Reputation

Enhance the Atmosphere

You work hard to preserve an atmosphere that is pleasant and consistent.  Is it?  Children can impair the ability of a business to successfully present its desired image.

Psychology of Waiting

Any service business should be concerned about the customer’s waiting experience.  If a customer is happy during the waiting process, it becomes much easier to provide service and make a positive impression.

“Unoccupied time seems longer than occupied time.”

(“The Psychology of Waiting Lines”. David H. Maister)

A waiting environment should include activities that encourage children to be calm and quiet.

Line-of-Sight

Whenever a child is not easily monitored by a parent, anxiety levels rise.  Separating children from their parents creates confusion over responsibility and discipline. 

Keeping children close to their parents is essential to maintaining a pleasant and responsible atmosphere.

Show Customers You Care

Customers are the bottom line.

Your goal is to make them happy.

Whether the focus is on the frequency of customer visits, the duration of their stay, or their perception of your business, it is essential to convey your appreciation.

Quietly resenting or actively discouraging the presence of children or creating or having anxiety over their presence is counterproductive to providing the desired level of customer service . . . and your customers feel that negativity.

It is in your best interest to allocate a budget for the provision of resources specifically targeted at putting parents at ease.

Parenting is a challenge, show empathy.

Your customers will thank you for it.