CASHIER LINES SHOULD BE SINGLE FILE OR “FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED”

It was a delightful surprise to see the newly renovated National Bookstore (Main Bldg.) at SM North EDSA with its clean, spacious layout and look. Doing away with line-of-sight obstructions helped do that combined with the off-white “color” scheme. They even thoughtfully included a lounge area with benches where customers can “take a load off” after going through books and supplies. Book “samplers” should be a welcome bonus for once-overs.

They even made the payment area into a single bar in contrast to the individual kiosks in the old layout. This looks good except that each cash register still has an individual line – which means that customers don’t necessarily get “first come, first served” service. Inevitably, there’ll be slower and quicker queues – which is unfair. National Bookstore should adapt SM Stores’, Watsons’, or S&Rs’ models wherein there’s only a single line for 2-6 cash registers – guaranteeing “first come, first served” service to all paying customers.

If SM Store, Watson, or S&R can think of it and do it, why can’t National Bookstore?

(www.consumerword.wix.com/consumerword)