Virtual Customer Queue Management System
We have all stood in line at some point.
Lineups. “Urgh!” or “Yuck!”.
That’s precisely what I along with many of my fellow shoppers associate long lines with whenever we encounter one.
Long queues often triggers strong negative emotions.
In fact, just the thought of waiting in line for a long period would turn many away.
According to Timex research, we spend approximately 37 billion hours on average every year waiting in line somewhere. We spend time waiting before entering a grocery store, a popular restaurant, or waiting to deposit a cheque at our local banks. Sometimes we will need to wait in line to see our family doctor or a vet for our pets.
Some of us are even spending our mornings before work or in between breaks waiting in line for coffee!
You get the idea.
Lines from a business perspective
“People spend a year or two of their lives waiting in line,” explains by Richard Larson, a professor who studies queuing theory at MIT.
The feelings associated with people spending time waiting in line can mean a great deal for businesses. It directly affects how consumers perceive a brand and their experience with it. How businesses manage crowds and lineups can either result in million dollars earned or the opposite, losses unimaginable.
Now, I am sure we can all recall a time or two where we got stuck in line. A long and unpleasant wait will very likely damage a consumer’s view of a brand. It causes the “reneging” and “balking” effects. Both terms are associated with people leaving a line or not entering it in the first place. On extreme measures, a bad experience can discourage people from coming back to the store entirely.
Managing lines traditionally
Implementing ways to manage lineups can help a business achieve efficiency in traffic control whenever spaces overcrowd. Traditionally, that requires the presence of human representatives to coordinate and inform customers on the go.
As lineups become the new norm post-COVID-19, you may even notice designated representatives physically counting people coming in and out of a store. If we look closely, many firms use traditional methods such as pen or paper, excel sheets on iPads, or counters to monitor the crowds.
And that requires a lot of time and resources.
Not only is the traditional way of managing lineups time-consuming, but it can also be dangerous in turbulent times like COVID-19. First, it increases a whole lot of touchpoints for interactions. Additionally, it also makes overcrowding at storefront an official store policy. There will be more foot traffic and more resources consumed for effective capacity control.
What does that mean?
That means more people are going to be waiting in line, for a longer period.
Managing lines virtually
A virtual queue management system allows people to queue virtually rather than stand in a physical lineup. It helps businesses take control of the flow of people and store traffic more efficiently. Most importantly, it also helps to improve people’s queuing experience while it takes the stress of physically lining up in a restricted space away from them. With a virtual queue management system, it allows a customer to wait remotely at virtually anywhere.
How Virtual Customer Queue Management System Works?
There are many different ways of how this can be done. Traditionally, companies are dedicating human resources to greet customers, take reservations, and control traffic at a storefront.
Other companies may have self sign-in kiosks installed. Customers will use these machines to sign in upon arrival and wait before they get notified for their appointment.
Another common way to traffic control is to introduce mobile queuing applications as part of the standard registration procedure.
Thanks to the modern development of better digital solutions and digital devices, taking lineups to the virtual world is no longer an abstract concept. The idea of digital queuing is to create more efficient ways to allocate scarce resources, such as space for businesses or time for customers. Businesses invite customers to join an open lineup online. Customers get inform whenever a space becomes available.
The best part of it?
Customers like you and I no longer have to wait in a constrained space for long periods. We can utilize the time where we spend standing in a physical queue to do other things!
And that, is exactly what Wait can offer.
What is Wait?
Wait is a queue management solution, created as a safer approach to lining up for customers during the COVID-19 period.
But it’s far from just that.
Wait is the risk-free way for businesses like retail or restaurants to handle lineups, store traffic, and crowds.
Carefully articulated and designed, Wait is created as a web-based application, so it does not take up spaces in the device’s local storage. Users can simply log onto the Wait portal via JoinTheWait.com
How does Wait work for business?
Wait is designed to help businesses manage store traffic and crowds more efficiently.
It fundamentally changes the way how customers wait, reduced perceived wait time, and takes control of your queues from literally anywhere.
Wait gives users the opportunity to create a unique store ID for different business locations. The sets of unique store ID is used as an identifier for customers to search for when they are ready to join the virtual queue.
Kuusoft provides resources for businesses to implement Wait. The smart system generates a printable open sign along with a unique store ID for each location created. This helps to provide instructions for customers wanting to join the wait. All set up can be done natively through a mobile/tablet device.
Once all the set up is completed, businesses can switch store locations from close to open and monitor virtual lineups on Wait from literally anywhere. It will never be easier!
Simple, right?
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