Making An Appointment To See Santa

It's only a few weeks until Christmas and that means that the malls are packed with families who are bringing their loved ones to get a photo with the guy in the red suit.

For many, they'll end up standing in line for a good amount of time, sometimes hours or more depending on when they go, before they'll be able to get their photo taken.

There are still some free attractions that are out there but many have started charging for photos and/or a video of the visit with the big guy. In some instances, they're charging between $35-50 for a package.

It's estimated that a single mall Santa will see on average about 10,000 kids during his regular 6 week stint at the shopping center in his festive suit. And because there is such a high demand for kids that want a sit down, that has prompted some malls to hire multiple actors for their establishment; some malls might have 5 or 6 at at time.

The long lineups are what can easily reduce the excitement and enjoyment of the activity and it's prompted some companies to look for other ways to improve efficiency in this area.

In an effort to try and smooth operations, reducing wait times and congestion, Macy's has started requiring that customers make appointments before getting their photos.

Their flagship store that is located in New York City is going to be allowing parents to reserve a spot for their kids rather than stand around all day in line, for now reservations are going to be free.

This new operation of having parents first set up an appointment time is allegedly the first time that they will be experimenting with this policy.

The option for making reservations will allow anyone interested to book a 30 minute slot with the mall Santa and they can book it up to 5 days in advance. If the method proves successful, we can expect to see it adopted in many more locations. It's surprising that they haven't considered such an option up until now, as a means to try and reduce congestion and improve wait-times for their business.

In many circumstances, parents wait on average between 2-2.5 hours before they can get a simple photo taken. And on weekends, or at busier locations, sometimes they will find themselves spending 5 hours or more waiting. There's got to be an easier way to get the job done and maybe this will be the first step in that direction.

Pics:
Pixabay
Elf via Giphy
Simpsons via Giphy
pixabay

Sources:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/11/16/new-jersey-mall-requires-payment-if-kids-want-to-visit-santa.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/ward-anderson/mall-santas_b_4357353.html
http://www.businessinsider.com/macys-requiring-children-to-make-appointment-with-santa-2017-11
https://www.thesun.ie/news/289494/arnotts-santa-claus-so-popular-families-willing-to-wait-up-to-seven-hours-to-visit-his-grotto/