City of Manhattan Beach Visitor Management
The city of Manhattan Beach is a California community that makes up the South Bay area. Noteworthy for its wealthy demographics and beautiful sites, Manhattan Beach enjoys almost 4 million visitors annually.
The City Hall of Manhattan Beach is where local residents can apply for special permits, file requests, make inquiries, and receive relevant information. Needless to say, the amount of residents seeking out services, coupled with the above-mentioned volumes of visitors, can create a few problems for the City Hall employees.
In this Case Study we will look into the future plans of City of Manhattan Beach to implement new technologies.
The problem
From pen and paper to smart, seamless service
There’s no better way to appreciate the power of modern technology than starting with the basics.
That was the case for the Manhattan Beach Permit Center, where operations began with a pen-and-paper sign-in process. It was simple - but far from efficient. Staff spent valuable time managing physical sign-in sheets, taking away from more important tasks.
It quickly became clear: this manual system was costing both time and money.
The goal
Time for a smarter solution
The city began exploring queue management tools. Since the investment would be significant, they wanted to make a well-informed choice.
Rather than picking software at random, they took a smart approach - testing multiple platforms during their free-trial periods.
They evaluated three top systems, including Qminder, focusing on:
Pricing
Ease of use
Integration flexibility
The solution
Qminder as a the Clear Winner
Qminder stood out as the most user-friendly option and checked all the boxes for what the city needed. It offered a better experience for both staff and visitors - and made a lasting impact from day one.
The future
The future of customer service at the City of Manhattan Beach
At the time of writing, Qminder hasn’t been fully rolled out at the Manhattan Beach Permit Center—but plans are well underway.
The upcoming setup includes:
A dedicated greeter desk to welcome visitors and guide them through the process.
Self check-in via iPad , giving visitors the option to sign in independently.
Accessibility in mind: for those less familiar with touchscreens, a Bluetooth keyboard will be available.
To enhance the experience even further, the city plans to install a large wait room TV display behind the clerks. This will keep everyone informed, showing:
Live queue updates
Visitor names
Assigned service desks
Smarter service with data
Manhattan Beach has already tested Qminder’s service intelligence tools - tracking and analyzing visitor trends. They’re now planning to use this feature more fully.
Before Qminder, visitor data was collected manually - a time-consuming process prone to human error. Digital tracking solves that.
Even better? Qminder brings insights they didn’t have before, like team performance stats. While individual metrics aren’t a priority for the administration, team-level data is essential for improving service.
To support this, each staff member will be given their own Qminder account, enabling smarter staffing decisions and better visibility.