Four expert tips for improving queue management
There’s no denying it: nobody likes to wait around. When a customer is seeking a product or service, the last thing they want to do is waste time while they wait for it. But the fact of the matter is, sometimes waiting is inevitable so the best you as a business owner can do is learn effective queue management techniques to keep your customers happy.
The customer experience
Whether it’s five or fifty minutes, every second spent waiting can be detrimental to a customer’s experience of your business. A long waiting time can at best leave a customer disgruntled and frustrated and, at worst, cause them to abandon your business altogether, costing you a sale. This can also result in the need for increased time spent on customer service as you try to rectify the situation.
So, how can you better manage customer wait times and master queue management? These tips can help you to do just that, and work well across almost all industries.
1. Identify the chokepoints
Even the most well oiled of machines has a cog that slows down the process. No matter how minor the chokepoint, it can seriously affect the entire service. Once you identify what your business’s chokepoint is, you can decongest the process and effectively shorten customer waiting time.
2. Be crystal clear
Many times customers end up waiting for one simple, avoidable reason: they aren’t in the right place. Clearly signpost your store so that customers find the right route the first time round and don’t end up wasting time. Also try to have a member of the team on hand to give customers the correct information and make sure everything is running smoothly.
3. Use a queue management system
If you regularly have customers waiting in line, you may need to find a queue management system that suits your business. There are products such as QLess that allow customers to join virtual queues, which means they can then go off and spend their waiting time how they choose. Not only will customers be impressed with this modern option, they will feel you value their time which will create loyalty.
4. Train your staff to help
Your staff may be well trained to do their specific jobs, but all members of the team should also be adept to deal with waiting customers. Train them to direct customers to the right location, and to diffuse situations where people may become agitated. Also make sure to have more staff on at peak times so that there are enough of them to handle increased traffic.
These four tips should help you to more effectively manage customer waiting time, and we highly recommend employing a queue management system. To discuss our efficient and easy-to-use queue management system QLess in more detail, get in touch and we’ll arrange a free consultation.
