MediaMarkt

3 million minutes free, instead of waiting

After all, I am no fool…

3 million minutes of waiting time was saved for the customers of MediaMarkt at credit management thanks to the digital queueing system of Linistry. “Introducing Linsitry was an easy and obvious choice.” says Zoltán Szemethy, Regional Operations Manager of MediaMarkt, recalling the 2017 decision. “We tested the service for several months before implementing it, observing the reaction of customers and colleagues. After gaining highly positive results during follow-up of customer satisfaction (90% + NPS) there was no question about expanding the solution across the company. For us, customer satisfaction is the number one priority.” the manager added.

Owned by the German CECONOMY group, MediaMarkt is the largest retail network of its kind in Europe, a chain of stores selling consumer electronics. Opening its first store in Europark, MediaMarkt appeared in Hungary March 11, 1997. Today, the company operates 32 department stores as well as its own webshop and employs approximately 1400 workers.

The commitment to quality is shown by the fact that MediaMarkt has repeatedly been the annual winner of the ‘Store of the Country’ prize since 2013 and a fifteen-time winner of the Superbrands prize, becoming Hungary’s favorite electronics department store with a portfolio that also contains the company brand electronics as well.

Over the course of more than 20 years in Hungary, MediaMarkt has evolved greatly in terms of the range of supplies and customer needs. As Zsolt Sashalmi, Brand Manager of MediaMarkt said: “It is key to keep consumer trends in mind not only regarding the webshop, but the physical store itself. This is why we began remodelling our department stores based on the purchasing habits of our customers and the most sought after products. Mobile phones, accessories and IT products therefore have a much larger section on the new sales floor. We are also aware that in order to create true customer experience a renewed product range alone in not enough. All across the store we were looking at areas to improve, where with a few changes we could provide a better experience for our customers. Some of these areas include queuing for in-store credit management and customer service, where the process has been made more comfortable and much faster following the introduction of Linistry.”

Credit management (credit desk) in stores

MediaMarkt makes the decision easy for customers to acquire credit on favourable terms. With the drop in interest rates, credit has become a popular service. During the period of the 0% rate campaign, waiting time at credit desks could last more than half an hour, which understandably caused dissatisfaction among customers. Parallel to this, in less busy periods, employees would work in other parts of the store, occasionally leaving the credit desk empty. In these cases, customers would be forced to wait even though they were the only ones in line.

MediaMarkt - Linistry - Tailored Digital Queue Management for Enterprises

 

In response to these challenges MediaMarkt digitalized its customer calling system with the help of Linistry, which has the following advantages:

  • more convenient for customers (no need to wait on the spot, customers are able to spend their time freely)
  • easy and convenient for employees (calm customers, calm work environment)
  • business advantages for the store
    • valuable from a business standpoint, customers can shop and browse freely while waiting
    • business reports/ statistics can be drawn from the system which display an accurate look at the actual operation of the stores and also provide effective assistance in resource planning
    • minor cost of investment
    • opportunity to place advertisements and information for the public alongside the digital ticket which can be viewed by the customer while waiting, this way delivering information to their handheld phone, the most personal device, while they are in store and available to browse.

 

How it works

1) customer can indicate their intent to receive credit
2) customer registers in the queue with their mobile phone number and gets the digital ticket by text message
3) waiting time can be spent freely, while the customer is continuously being notified of the expected time left
4) customer receives message when it’s time for them to make their way to the credit desk

Introducing Linistry in the country took about 2 months. With its use stable ever since, colleagues in credit management favour it as it assists them in their work, making it easier to manage customers.

Customer service, a different genre

In contrast with credit management, the process of customer service is faster and smoother. The challenge in this case is not of the waiting time, but of keeping the order of the queue and the pace and procedure of service. A customer calling system can greatly assist in maintaining an organized service, providing transparency for both customers and colleagues alike.

Another difficulty is when a customer steps forward to the desk and poses a question while the customer in front of them is being served by an employee. If the calling system is in effect, customers are prevented from stepping forward until their number appears on the display, and as a result employees are able to work in a more focused manner.

MediaMarkt introduced Linistry at two of its busy customer service points, which beyond resolving all of the challenges mentioned above, provided the advantage of not printing the tickets on paper, making its operation economical and environmentally friendly along with a low cost of investment.

How it works

1) customer checks in at the digital kiosk, enters a title
2) customer takes a seat and waits comfortably until it is their turn
3) customer is notified on the display with the title they provided when it is their turn;

Immediate ROI

Great customer experience is always worth it, especially when resulting in customers spending a significant amount of their waiting time in the shop area! In 2018 MediaMarkt transformed 1,000,000 minutes of waiting time from idle waiting to active browsing and purchasing. It’s not difficult to calculate that Linistry, with its minor investment cost provides a return in the very first months, not to mention the advertisements placed on the digital tickets, where services and special offers can be communicated towards customers.

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