Why do you need a queue management system?

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A queue management system is used by businesses to streamline their queues to ensure the customer satisfaction. The queue management systems start gaining popularity around a decade ago, since then more and more businesses are adopting to it. The queue management system is basically a combination of a software and some hardware devices. The customers can sign-up for the queues by multiple channels. The most commonly used method is to sign-up via on-site interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosk. However businesses are also using online appointment booking tools, smartphone applications, QR Code and also using a bit more traditional methods such as calls, emails, SMS, etc. The most common method is the self-service ticker dispensing kiosk. With the rise of virtual queuing the mobile apps and QR Code type sing-up methods are also gaining popularity.

Usually business have multiple services and multiple counters, so they ask customers and visitors to choose the service during the sign-up process. The customers and visitors sign-up for the queue, then they wait, an audio visual system is used for customer calling and then the customers and visitors approach the assigned counter, get the service done, and leave. Some businesses also ask for feedbacks and usually it is post-service customer feedback. The queue management system is a very effective tool to control, manage and improve the customer journey and customer experience. It also help businesses to boost employee performance and strengthen their relation with the customers.

Here are some good reasons why do you need a queue management system:

If you want to reduce the Customer Wait Time

The customer wait time is one of the most important factor in customer journey and it can completely make or break customer experience. Studies have shown that the maximum bearable wait time for any customer or visitors is thirteen minutes, any time more than that will add up to their frustration. Different industries have different impact of the long wait time. The customer churn rate is also different in different industry if we will keep the wait time constant, but one thing is sure, the maximum wait time without annoying your customers is thirteen to fifteen minutes, and long wait time always have negative impact on customer experience and customer journey. The queue management system is very helpful in reducing the customer wait time and controlling the customer flow.

Every business have multiple services and usually multiple counters are there which require multiple queues, the most common mistake made by the customers and visitors is to end up in the wrong queue. A queue management system solve that issue, it automatically direct the customers to the right queue as per their selection of the service during the sign-up process. In case if a customer selected wrong service, the agent/server had control and ability to immediately direct them to the right counter without making them to wait again. That is a great feature and it helps both the customers and the agents/server too.

Moreover with the help of a proper digital queue management system in place the customers don’t face a lot many other problems. For example, usually in manual queues, there are line jumpers, which can sometimes cause a literal chaos in the waiting area. Apart from the line jumper, the customers and visitors will have to stay in long lines to secure their position in the queue, which is also difficult. This unrest condition lead to other problems, one of the biggest problem that most businesses face is the complaints about mismanagement, despite the staff is doing their best, still the customer keep complaining about the mismanaged queues. These all problems waste time and over-burdened the staff too, which results in more waiting time. However with the queue management system this all can be avoided.

Read More: Queue & Waiting Time Management

If you want to automate the Customer Journey and Customer Routing

You need a digital queue management system if you want to automate the customer journey and customer routing. The customer journey could be based on several steps, the number and nature of these steps is totally dependent on the service type and service delivery mechanisms. Different businesses have different internal structure and business practices which distinguish them from others. This is what form a unique customer experience. However there are certain types of queuing which can cover all types of businesses and their methods. Here are certain scenarios which differentiate queuing processes:

One counter for each service
One service for all counters
All counters for all services
Multiple counters for a single service (stepped service delivery)
VIP/Premium or exclusive counters for certain customers
One counter for multiple services but not all

These are just a few most commonly occurring scenarios. Obviously each business is different from the other and all businesses try to be unique and distinguishable to build unique brand identity and unique customer experience. However mostly the customer journey is managed and controlled as per the above mentioned scenarios. These all scenarios require a different approach. If a business is managing the customer flow and customer journey manually and it has more than one scenario (which usually is the case) then they will require a lot of staff to make sure a smooth customer flow and quicker customer journey. Which is expensive and still not so effective.

In manual queue management there will be still some loopholes and customers will still going to face some problems. Maybe during the regular work hours the problems may not occur much often but during the busy work hours there will be so many complaints and so many unhappy customers. With a queue management system the customer journey can be automated and all these problems can be solved and these delays can be eliminated.Which will significantly reduce the wait time and improve customer journey and customer satisfaction.

If you want to Improve Service Quality and Service Delivery

The waiting time and waiting experience impacts on the overall perception of the customer interaction. If a customer will have to wait in long queues and had to face all the troubles associated with manual queue management, they will be frustrated and annoyed when they will arrive at the service counter. This has a huge impact on their interaction with the service agent. When a customer is already frustrated and the employees are over-burdened the interaction could be anything by satisfactory. It would be extremely hard for the employees to make the customers happy and satisfied. But with a queue management system when the customer flow is automatically regulated the customer journey and customer routing is automatically managed, the waiting experience is pleasant, the customers will arrive in a normal mood and would be more accepting and understanding.

The automation and smoother customer flow also have double affects, it also reduce the work load of the employees and let your agents/server to focus on their primary tasks which further enhances their interaction with the customers and visitors. Moreover the segregation and/or identification of the services can provide a chance to the business to offer a bit more personalized experience as per the customer preferences. As the service agent is already aware what service he/she will have to cater for the next customer, they can do the preparations in advance. There is always some pre-service work for the agent, which need time, but due to the queue management system the agents/servers can get ready before the customer’s arrival and as soon as the customer arrives they can instantly initiate the service without any delay, this improve the service quality, reduce the service delivery time, improve employee and customer interaction and ensure higher customer satisfaction.

If you want to Improve Staff Efficiency

The biggest problem with manual queue management is that the staff is always under pressure. They have too much work to do, they are usually multitasking, and the chances are they will also get distracted while delivering the service. This not only reduce the staff efficiency but it also have an impact on the customer experience and customer journey. When the business is managing the queues manually the staff will also have to focus on the line management and all problems that comes with manual line management, such as unhappy customers, dispute between customers, line jumpers, etc. This distracted them from their primary tasks, it also make your staff unsatisfied. They always feel over-burdened and despite working so hard they still have to hear a lot of complaints from the customers.

However, the digital queue management system have advanced capabilities to automatically control customer flow and manage customer journey. Which significantly reduces the work load of the staff. The staff can utilize this free time to focus on their primary tasks. Once your staff will be happy and satisfied they will be able to deliver the satisfactory services. If a happy and active employee will greet your customer at the service counter it will automatically improve the customer interaction. On top of that the queue management system is also capable of monitoring and measuring various staff KPIs which are very helpful for the business for better resource management. Collectively all these factors contributes to achieve higher staff efficiency and enable an employee to serve more customers with good quality service in a single shift. This increase the profitability and operational capabilities of the business.

If you want to Collect Customer Feedback more Effectively

The customer feedback provides a very important data which help businesses to understand their customers and provide them deeper insight to the effectiveness of the existing business processes and methodologies. The customer feedback is also very important as it gives customers an impression that the business wants to listen to them and they are very important for their favorite brand. The business and customer relationship is very delicate, it requires continuous nourishing and the customer feedback is a great tool to understand brand perception in the customer’s minds. There are several different types of customer feedback systems available, however the most effective method is to take feedback immediately after delivering the service via a queue management system integration. The modern day queue management systems have either in-built customer feedback collection module or either they are integrated with the customer feedback system.

Whatever the case is, the best time to collect customer feedback is immediately after the service delivery. The benefits of integrating the customer feedback with the queue management system is that it can provide quicker customer feedback collection with higher response rates. The businesses can easily integrate the queue management system with the customer data base, the agent dashboard can easily provide the customer identification details hence the customer feedback submission become very simple. All a customer needs is to just answer a few questions and that is it. The queue management system will automatically link the feedback to the customer. Later if the business wants to follow up with the customers they will be able to do so. The customer feedback provide crucial information about the market trend, customer behavior, their expectations, their needs and their problems. Such data is very helpful in improving the future strategies and taking actions to resolve customer’s problems.

If you want to Gather Business Intelligence Data

The customer feedback data is also a part of the broader business intelligence. The business intelligence data can come from various sources, such as it could be form the self-service sign-up kiosk providing the information about the most requested services, customer churn rate, most liked and popular services and vice versa.The queue management system can also collect intensive data about the customer flow and customer journey, for example, how much an average time is required to serve a single customer or how long does it take a customer to complete its customer journey or which service require how much time to fulfill, etc. Such information are very helpful in highlighting the flaws and issues in the various touch points of the customer journey. The businesses can extract reports and data from business intelligence.

The queue management system provides an in-built data analytical engine and reporting module which is very helpful to generate reports for different levels of the management and different types of audience. These reports can highlight the areas of improvements and accurately assess the effectiveness of current policies and mechanisms. Business can make informed decisions on the bases of reports extracted from the business intelligence data and they can form their future strategies and do changes to ensure the ultimate level of customer satisfaction will be achieved.

If you want to Increase Profitability and Growth

Every business’s goal is to increase profitability and growth. A queue management system help businesses to automate the customer journey and it can also eliminate some steps from the customer journey and it is quite capable of facilitating the service delivery process. It help easing the staff and let them focus on their primary job roles and allow them to be more productive. The staff satisfaction is also very important. When the customer journey is optimized and customers will have to do less wait and their waiting experience is also engaging and stress-free, they will arrive at the counter with calm mind and good mood. On the other hand the employee will also be aided by the queue management system and they will also be able to greet them in a good manner. This will trigger a positive vibe will make the entire interaction more friendly and satisfactory.

The customer feedback and business intelligence data can further allow the business to assess and evaluate their practices and methodologies and can guide them to develop in the right direction by making informed decisions and accurate assessments. These features of a queue management system are very helpful in increasing the profitability, intelligent resource management, reduction in cost and per service expenses and utilizing the resources at their full potential. The customer happiness and satisfaction lead to increased customer loyalty and positive brand identity. The loyal customers are tend to be good brand advocate. Studies have shown that it is nine to thirteen time less expensive to sell to an existing customer than acquiring a new customers. Moreover the positive brand reputation help yielding better ROIs from the marketing and communication activities. Which help driving a long term sustainable growth.

Conclusion

The manual queuing have a lot of problems, it put burden on the staff and overall the entire business, it ruins the customer experience and prolonged customer journey. The long wait time and poor customer experience repel customers form the brand and harm bran reputation. Which lead to increased marketing cost and made it more difficult to attract new customers. A digital queue management system on the other hand can completely transform the customer journey with highly organized queues and smoother customer flow, the customer journey shortens moreover it improve the waiting experience. A queue management system also reduce stress from the staff and help improving employee performance. Which also have a positive impact on customer experience and increase customer happiness. Businesses can effectively improve customer satisfaction and increase customer retention. The customer loyalty help building positive brand reputation and also attract more customers. A queue management system can facilitate the entire customer journey and the service delivery which reduce per service cost and improve profitability. The business intelligence and customer satisfaction help business to build a positive brand reputation and drive sustainable long term growth. RSI Concepts is a leading queue management system provider in Dubai, UAE. If you need a queue management system or want to learn more, feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

Check out this blog: How The Technology Improve Your Business Using the Queue Management System?

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