GeekHampton Retail Queue Management Solution

GeekHampton is a New York-based Apple Premier Partner which specializes in on-site and in-store troubleshooting and tutoring. Since its humble beginnings as a two-person home-based business in 2000, GeekHampton has had a simple modus operandi:

“Deliver on what you promise, show up on time, have a helpful attitude, and actually fix people’s computer issues.”

To better align their activity with this vision, GeekHampton owners Sheryl Heller and Mike Avery decided to recruit the help of the Qminder retail queue management solution.

Problems and Expectations of GeekHampton

Summer is the time where many businesses face the increased number of visitors. As the only Apple retail and services center in the area, GeekHampton experiences first-hand the effects of it. The increased footfall demands a queue management solution that fits GeekHampton both as an Apple Premier Partner but also as a business dedicated to offering a great in-store experience.

The latter is something visitors are keen on, as in-store experience tends to make or break businesses’ image in their customers’ eyes. Though fully staffed for the peak season, GeekHampton still had problems in this area. It used to make its customers wait for a couple of minutes until a service representative was able to pay attention to their case.

A crowded showroom and long wait times are a major concern for businesses that want to create better customer experiences. Today’s retail customers tend to value their time, and when confronted with long waiting, take their business elsewhere. GeekHampton’s efforts were aimed at solving this problem.

Finding an Apple-Based Queue Management Solution

As GeekHampton was looking for a queue management tool, it outlined key requirements, the most important of which is that this new solution would need to work seamlessly with Apple products and be cloud-based.

Another requirement was integration with a sign-in kiosk for customer registration and an Apple TV-powered waiting list. In other words, GeekHampton wanted to not only reduce waiting time but also allow its customers to browse the store at their own leisure, without worrying about missing their turn.

Lastly, GeekHampton staff needed to be able to check in on the queue via an iPhone or Apple Watch, as their job made it difficult to be physically present at the showrooms at all times.

Among dozens other potential solutions, Qminder fit the bill perfectly, plus it offered a 14-day free trial. After trying it out and experiencing Qminder’s simplicity, GeekHampton has made its decision.

Customer Benefits of Qminder

In addition to satisfying all the requirements set by GeekHampton, Qminder also offers a wide array of useful perks.

User-Friendliness

One of the more important and self-evident benefits of the Qminder solution is its ease of use.

“Qminder’s simplicity is what we love the most. It is easy to introduce to the team and it barely needs additional training,” says Amy Marr, Director of Operations at GeekHampton.

Quick Setup & Delightful Experience

Customers who walk in choose the service they need — sales, service, or pickup — and type in their names. The last part is especially important as it helps each individual visitor track their placement in a waiting list as well as creates a pleasant, personal atmosphere in the store. Improved visibility means that visitors are free to walk around the showroom and explore the products on display.

For retail customers, it is not only the actual wait time that matters but the perceived wait time, too. The ability to track your place in a queue, get notified of all the changes and estimate the wait time proved to be a solution that helped solve this waiting experience problem for GeekHampton.

Increase in Efficiency

Without a queue management system, service reps struggle to focus on the customer they are working with while managing the queue at the same time. Qminder helps automatically collect all the required visitor information and jump right into helping them out whether the customer requires sales or technical support or are just picking up a repaired machine.

With the help of Qminder’s Service Intelligence, GeekHampton owners are able to see the exact peak hours throughout the day and create a staffing plan accordingly. Reports showing a breakdown of the services provided over time provide an overall picture of the GeekHampton community, allowing to plan ahead and further increase efficiency.

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Do you experience the same problems GeekHampton did? Take a cue from them and give Qminder a try.

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