There are many queue management systems and tools out there, which is good news for people who have complex customer service flow, or looking for additional features to decrease service wait time.
If you think too many options can be overwhelming, check our list of top 15 queue management software in 2023.
To help you decide on the right queuing software, we’ve compiled a list of must-have queue management features.
Compare your options against this list, and weed out the platforms that don’t suit your needs.
The benefits of queue management software
There are a number of benefits to implementing a queue management system. These are the more obvious, key features:
- Reduced customer walkouts and churn
- More efficient use of physical space
- Improved service speed
- Increased customer flow throughput
But there are also benefits that are less apparent and come as a consequence of using a queuing system:
- Better allocation of labor resources
- Reduced operating costs
- Increased impulse purchasing
- Improved staff retention and engagement
To reap all of these benefits, one must consider all aspects of queue management and what they want for their business and customers.
Centralized management
The point of a flexible centralized dashboard is that it allows you to operate it from anywhere. It ensures the same level of service quality across multiple business locations and even geographic areas.
With a queue management dashboard, you can:
- Interact with visitors
- See their history of previous interactions
- Move them from one line to another or remove altogether
- Assign them to a better-equipped service agent
All of the features are but a couple of clicks away.
For administrators, centralized management is about overviewing their team and individual performance metrics, managing access rights, and configuring accounts.
Real-time monitoring
Speaking for different outlets, it’s important to monitor activity across all of them in real time.
A good queue management system acts as your eyes on the ground. It gathers valuable data and helps you keep track of staff and visitor activity.
Is today’s queuing performance out of the ordinary? How does the number of customers and their respective wait times compare to the last week’s average?
Having these numbers as precise as possible, and in real time, ensures that issues are immediately spotted and dealt with.
And again, with a cloud-based queuing system, you can monitor your locations for these issues remotely — from any place with an internet connection.
Remote check-in
Now that we’ve experienced what the word “pandemic” really means, it’s about time we take a hard long look at the way we used to do things.
Namely, the way we used to queue up.
Walk-in queuing and physical lines are not the best solutions in the face of risk factors such as COVID-19. The way forward is by giving customers a safe, reliable, remote way of checking in.
Touchless check-in — be it via scanning a QR-code or by registering online — helps you keep both your staff and customers secure, plus give your visitors the comfort of checking in from any place.
As they’re no longer required to visit your place, you must make sure that they are aware of how busy your location is at all times.
With a dedicated webpage that displays average wait time and number of current visitors, your customers can make informed decisions as to when to visit your location.
You can also include all of the important check-in guidelines so as to avoid confusion. All of this makes remote check-in by far the most preferable option of signing in for service.
Real-time notifications
Naturally, customers who checked in remotely still need to get timely updates on their queue status. This way, they can better determine how long they might wait, whether they can go about their business, and when to go to the location’s premises.
Automatic text messages help alert customers in advance of their turn, so they would not miss it. A service agent can also inform customers of any delays, changes or cancellations and remind them to bring specific things necessary for the service (documents, ID, etc.).
Real-time notifications are a part of the queue system’s flexibility suite. They allow you to immediately react to the changes and tailor the process to the new circumstances.
Third-party system integrations
No queue management software — no matter how sophisticated it is — can handle every aspect of service on its own. That’s why there are so many solutions out there, dealing with anything from customer relationship management to collaboration tools.
That’s why it’s important that your virtual queue management software offers third-party integrations using APIs.
Integrations not only help you create a more accurate picture of your business’ performance, but also remove information silos that exist between platforms and your company’s departments.
Informed business decisions require coordination and good information flow, which is only possible if all the tools at your disposal work in tandem, filling each other’s blind spots.
Reporting tools
As Peter Drucker famously said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”
Just like a business cannot move forward without a clear business plan in place, all of your customer service innovations are doomed to fail unless you set up KPIs — key performance indicators.
Service intelligence, which is basically customer service-oriented business intelligence, offers you guidance on how to tackle problems and get the most out of your resources.
Are there many walkaways on average? Are they consistent throughout the week? Is there a pattern?
Which service line is performing better than others, and which is lagging behind? Are the peak hours the same across all of them? Can you allocate service agents from one to another?
These are just sample questions that, no matter how small they look, help you build a stronger customer service core.
Having the comfort of precise service numbers delivered to your inbox rids you of the headache and gives you a clearer understanding.
Why use Qminder’s queue management software?
Only you know what your business and customers really need, but here are the facts about our product:
- Qminder offers remote check-in and virtual queuing.
- Qminder has a centralized service dashboard that facilitates collaboration.
- Qminder is a browser-based solution that doesn’t require installing countless apps.
- Qminder provides regular service reports, which can be exported to Excel or Google Sheets.
- Qminder can integrate with your internal backend system using RESTful APIs.
More importantly, Qminder is free to use for 14 days, all features included.
Give Qminder a two-week test run or schedule a demo . We will guide you every step of the way and help your figure out the best layout for your business.
Get to know the author
Kirill Tšernov Putting U in Queue
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