Managing safety and experience of walk-ins in Humane Society of Huron Valley
As the only animal shelter in Washtenaw County, the Humane Society of Huron Valley has the highest save and adoption rates among Michigan animal shelters. It manages to find home for thousands of lost and abandoned animals — a feat made possible thanks to HSHV’s use of Qminder’s queue management software.
The Problem
Taking care of four-legged friends
The people at HSHV pride themselves on offering affordable, compassionate care, which is a tall order due to the sheer number of animals needing help.
In addition to their adoption program and taking in animals from struggling shelters, the Humane Society of Huron Valley has a high-volume, non-profit veterinary clinic.
In 2020, things took a turn for the worse. As Michigan was one of the first areas in the US to be hit hard by the pandemic, HSHV needed to find ways to adhere to the CDC, state and local guidelines.
To stay afloat and keep their mission in tact, HSHV required a queue management system that would help them:
Manage, measure and limit the number of walk-in visitations
Provide a safe waiting environment and eliminate the need for physical lines
Communicate with visitors remotely and reliably via text messages
THE GOAL
HSHV aimed to reduce walk-in crowds while continuing to do their work as an essential business.
The Solution
Walk-in management and remote queuing
The Humane Society’s partnership with Qminder has brought about changes in their check-in process.
The new sign-in flow requires HSHV visitors to scan a QR code to join the queue. The visitors share their info (name and phone number) and are then instructed to wait in their cars until they receive a text message.
This makes visitation a lot easier for potential adopters, as there’s no more crowded lobbies, and waiting is entirely contact-free.
The workers at HSHV have also found it easy to communicate with visitors via text messages. SMS allows them to quickly update customers on their wait progress, delays, cancellations or any other changes that occurred.
The Success
Fast and furry-ous
The impact from implementing Qminder was significant and immediate.
Using virtual queuing, HSHV was able to pivot to curbside check-in and service, eliminating the need for physical proximity and reducing crowds. The new tool has helped maintain vital services within the new, challenging environment.
Moreover, the setup required no new hardware, and the Qminder software proved to be intuitive and easy to learn. This ensured quick deployment and frictionless team onboarding, with both visitors and employees liking the new, faster approach.
Learning points
The way the Humane Society of Huron Valley managed to rethink and reorganize the way they operate should be nothing short of inspirational for other veterinary clinics and adoption centers.
Armed with robust queue management software just like HSHV, businesses can weather the storm and provide a safer, faster waiting environment for their customers, visitors and, of course, employees.
Allow for remote check-in options
Eliminate the need for physical lines
Take advantage of customer data insights