Improve Customer Service via Queue Management System

People generally don't reminisce about their latest visit to the bank, or the ISP office. Actually, what happens is quite the opposite.

Even briefly mentioning customer service in a friendly conversation between friends or colleagues could escalate the situation. Next thing you know, there’s a torrent of “I know, XYZ’s customer service is atrocious…” stories.

It’s usually down to a single employee when these stories are brought up. How do we go about teaching our employees, to provide the best customer service every single time? We must create a customer-first culture, and an inviting environment for all visitors.

72% of customers believe the best thing you can do is not waste their time.

A survey, carried out in 2016 by Forrester, noted that 72% of customers say that valuing their time is the most important thing that a company can do to provide them with good service. One crucial step to take would be to please the 72%, just by making their time feel valued.

Queue management systems convince customers to believe that you value their time.

Customers are extremely quick to make complaints, especially when it revolves around customer service and waiting. They talk about the number of things they could be doing or how their valuable time is being wasted.

In this day and age, it’s odd that people line up and aren’t even addressed by the staff. If customers have to wait 15 minutes just to see the staff’s face, surely they will feel that their time is being wasted.

Customers no longer have to idly stand in line with a queuing system.

Your customers feel that their valuable personal time is wasted, just waiting to interact with you. If you can’t talk to them right away, how will they ever feel valued?

It is your responsibility to make them feel valued. Don’t make them feel like you’re wasting their time. The same feeling will trickle down to your services and your product.

Using a queue management software gives your customers free time when when they’re waiting. Of course, there are smartphones and newspapers, and in some cases, a friend in the line to chat with.

• When a customer doesn’t actually need to physically stand in the line because of a QMS, then they are free to look around. It also gives you a pretty wide range of opportunities to improve customer experience in waiting lines. You can capture visitor interests or passively sell during the wait. Make the waiting experience feel like you’re already servicing them.

• Queuing system Qminder improves the customer experience by measuring footfall, analyzing wait times and generating reports. You would know exactly what the customers are experiencing, and make business-oriented decisions based on the data.

• Qminder replaces sign in sheets and take-a-number systems. With an iPad based solution, visitors can queue up by name. This enables visitors to look around freely and allows employees to approach visitors by name. All the data is gathered to improve staff resource planning and customer service.

By analyzing the queues, you can offer a better customer service experience. Customers being free while being in the queue make them feel like they’re in control. Retail strategy like this improves your brand loyalty, while allowing easier relationship building, thus increasing sales.

Customer service oriented companies use a queue management system.

It’s proven that using a queue management system improves both the customer satisfaction and the sales numbers. Various types of businesses nowadays are adopting a barrier-free queuing system to welcome customers, track employee performances and gather retail intelligence.

Sprint is just one of many.

Sprint is a United States-based telecommunications company that provides wireless services, and is also a major global Internet carrier with a clear mission: to be number one in providing a simple, instant, enriching and productive customer experience.

Using Qminder as their waiting line management system has really improved Sprint on all fronts. Happier customers, engaging staff and reporting for the location managers.

Before using any queue management software, Sprint had built a special kids zone and provided comfortable couches for visitors while they waited. Sadly, nobody was using these because they were standing in line. Not standing in line meant they would have lost their spot.

“Our goal is to make five minutes seem like 30 seconds. The customer doesn’t mind waiting and can browse through the store. Qminder helps create that environment.” George Frankie McAllister, Store Manager
Sprint

Queue management software has also made a tremendous difference in many retail companies.

Lancaster Archery Supply is one of the biggest 3D archery stores in the world. With customers from across the country, they also use Qminder to manage their queue.

“The old ticketing system was very impersonal and we couldn’t track how many people were waiting and where they were.” Chris Scott, Showroom Manager
Lancaster Archery Supply

Now, by using Qminder, Lancaster Archery Supply staff greets every customer by name. As a result, clients are more open and relaxed at your location - a known strategy that leads to more sales.

The fact is, not many locations think about using a queue management system for retail, simply because they don’t know about the benefits. More and more business owners and location managers today are aware of the benefits of integrating technology to retail business. It’s what keeps customers happy and it’s what provides them the edge over their competitors.

Bank or a beauty salon – a good retail queuing system places you ahead of the competition.

A survey carried out by First Data, a commerce-enabling technology and solutions provider, showed that customers are willing to wait different amounts of time in the line for different kinds of services.

The survey carried out in 2016 involving 1000 customers, reveal that 26% would be willing to wait for longest at a bank, and that their patience runs thin quickest when waiting at bars and pubs, retailers, and beauty salons.

“Queues are a sign of a thriving business, but if not managed correctly, can quickly undo the hard work that has gone into attracting customers, with an off-putting in-store experience.” Raj Sond, General Manager
First Data

Weather it’s a bank or a beauty salon – when the customer is standing in the line, then their time is in your hands. It’s in your hands to control whether customers walk out to spread the bad experience, or end up buying even more than they came to you in the first place.

A well developed queue management software with an easy sign up system like Qminder gives businesses an uplifting push towards happier customers, and subsequently increase in sales as shown by our own customers.

You can sign up for free and try it out for 14 days. No credit card required. Try Qminder Free