In theory, it is a simple proposition: Make customers wait longer, and fewer of them will come back. But actual practice is complicated. Marketing develops a new product, service, affinity plan, and so on. This new marketing initiative causes changes in operational processes that increase customer service times. When waiting lines form, a small increase in service times for each customer magnifies into a significant increase in waiting time for the customer at the end of the line. The increase in waiting times causes a reduction in customer loyalty, which leads to lower customer retention, and hence, repurchases. Consequently, the marketing initiative has costs as well as benefits. Blockbuster, Inc. has developed a model that combines operational process analysis, waiting line simulation, real versus perceived waiting times, a customer loyalty model, and a financial model to find the bottom-line impact from operational changes of new marketing programs.
