Visiting a dispensary for the first time can be an intimidating experience, but if your business provides a warm, welcoming environment for your new visitor, he or she can feel more at ease with the process. Customer service is a crucial component in turning new visitors into repeat customers, and your waiting room is a huge part of that experience. The space can leave an immediate impression on your customers and dictate how the rest of their experience will go; a well-designed waiting room can make your visitors feel comfortable and confident in your dispensary’s professionalism, while a dirty or sparse area can undermine your legitimacy and work against you.
Is your waiting room unremarkable? Here are some tips for making sure your dispensary offers the best first impression possible for your customers that will make them want to come back.
Keep It Clean and Comfortable
Image via Lightshade Sheridan’s location in Denver, CO
First and foremost: make sure your waiting room area is clean and devoid of clutter. If your waiting room is well organized, visitors will think your business is run in a similar manner (which may or may not be the truth, but remember, we’re talking about first impressions here). Dust, sweep, and vacuum regularly, keep your pamphlets and other reading materials tidy and well-stocked, and make sure you offer comfortable seating. The less your waiting room reminds customers of the DMV, the better!
Help Pass the Time
A few simple distractions to keep your customers entertained before they’re called back to check out your products can help pass the time, especially if there’s a bit of a wait. Suggestions include a television, pinball machines or arcade games, adult coloring books, and magazines. Some dispensaries set up a “deals wheel” or other game where customers play to win items like a free pre-roll, gram, or other product. Feel free to get creative, as your individual touch can help make your business stand out from your nearby competition.
Share Your Menu
Image via Sacred Seed’s rec location in Denver, CO
The best way a patient or customer can spend their time waiting is by looking at your menu and choosing the items they’d like to look at before stepping back to see the selection. Make sure your menu is up-to-date — you can even consider keeping a tablet with your Leafly menu available for perusal. This tactic allows patients and customers to get an idea of what they’d like to purchase, saving everyone time in the long run.
Inform, Inform, Inform!
Find this Leafly Strain Tile Poster and other materials at the Leafly Shop.
It’s crucial that medical patients make an informed decision when choosing the right strain or product for their personal needs, and offering information on the myriad benefits and uses of marijuana can be a great help. Terpene wheels, pamphlets, studies, and other educational materials will keep your customers educated on cannabis’s therapeutic properties. Retail shops can offer information on state laws, possession limits, cannabis types — regardless of which type of customer you’re catering to, your resources can demonstrate that you’re an authority on cannabis and can be trusted to satisfy your visitor’s needs.
Offer Refreshments
The simple step of offering complimentary tea or coffee, or even just a water cooler and cups, provide a welcome diversion from the monotony of waiting. Individually packaged snacks or little treats (non-infused, of course) are also a great way to minimize any “hangry” customer outbursts.*
*Note: Colorado cannabis regulations do not allow food and/or beverages onsite at a medical or recreational cannabis store.
Provide Free Wi-Fi
Free up your customers’ data plans by offering complimentary Wi-Fi while they wait. You can keep a sign at your desk that discloses the password. Even better, you can set up your router to automatically direct guests to a splash page after they login to your WiFi. We suggest making that splash page your location’s Leafly menu so that your customers can familiarize themselves with the products you have in stock and determine which strains or items they’d like to acquire. (The setup process can differ depending on the router, so check your hardware settings for specific instructions.)
When your consumers are happy, they’re more likely to return, more likely to leave a positive review for your company, and far more likely to recommend the shop to a friend. Your waiting room experience may seem inconsequential to you, but it can go a long way in gaining a loyal customer and creating a more pleasant overall experience.
Contact Leafly to find out other ways we can help grow your cannabusiness!
Header image: Airfield Supply Co. in San Jose, CA
