Keep your customers coming back through wireless guest networks

Posted by Karen Smyth on Aug 4, 2010 5:13:48 PM

I love the smell car grease in the morning. It smells like productivity.

Back in the day, when it was time for a check–up for my car, I didn't know what I dreaded more, worrying about how much my visit would cost or what potential work issue would grow in size while I was out. For these reasons, I generally put off car appointments.

When I finally did go in, I'd notify my co-workers that I’d be offline for an indefinite period while I got my “gasket boot thingy rotated”. I then made sure I packed a few good Sudoku puzzles and the newspaper. Call me crazy, but this just didn't feel like the best use of my time.

My experience completely changed when I bought my last car. When the salesperson told me they offered wireless in the service center, I thought, ”What?! No more Sudoku?! Let me think about this. YES!” While I can’t say it was the only factor that led to my purchase, it clearly made the top eight.

I named my new car Miss Scarlett. So far, she has been somewhat demanding. Then again, I don't put off appointments for her just because I have a big project or a web call. If the maintenance light goes on, I no longer try to cover it up with a sticky note until my schedule frees up. Miss Scarlett gets what she needs.

I pay a little more by going to the dealership, but the convenience of wireless is very much worth it. I’m sure everyone else typing away in that lobby feels the same way. While Miss Scarlett is getting worked on, I’m on the secure guest network and getting work done. Making sure the system is secure is a very important step. While it keeps clients like me humming along, it also prevents any would-be hacker from getting into the dealership’s records.

If you expect your customers to wait for any period of time, you really should give them a choice about what to do with that time (not that there is anything wrong with Sudoku). This consideration keeps them coming back. Just last week, I rushed from my office to get to a hair appointment only to wait 40 minutes because my stylist was backed up. I thought about the two e-mails I had to leave unfinished. The next time I see my stylist I think my tip will be to find a Cisco partner and to look into wireless.

Located in beautiful Vancouver Canada, Fresh Direct is a small business that gets this. Their wireless network is secure and separates their guest network from their own network. Customers can conveniently place orders online in the store and vendors can meet with store employees without any worry.


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