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How to Choose the Best Queue Management Software?

A queue management software have become a necessity these days, especially for all service based sectors. Managing queues manually is very difficult, it ruin customer experience and it put extra burden on the staff. The rapid advancements in the digital technology all around us has led to several new trends, one of these trend is a digital queue management system. Whenever we go to a bank or a customer service center, or any such businesses we expect a proper digital queue management system there, the very first thing anyone do is to look up for the sign-up or ticket dispensing kiosk. A business must have to meet the expectations of its customers. The very reason of deploying a digital queue management system is to achieve highest level of customer satisfaction and customer happiness. If a business provide services as per its customer’s needs and expectation, it will make the customers happy.

How to Choose the Best Queue Management Software?

The queue management system is extremely important for a business as the customer journey and customer happiness relies on it. The ultimate goal of any service based business is to achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction. A happy and satisfied customer is tend to be more loyal to the brand. The customer loyalty improves customer retention. Loyal customers are more likely to promote the business and are very less likely to switch based on a bad experience, they can tolerate the business more and always give their favorite brand a second chance. However, the customer who left unhappy, are most likely to never return, on top of that the unhappy customers can also repel other prospects and cause harm to the brand reputation and brand identity. That is why having a perfect queue management system is very important. The queue management system based on two components, the hardware and the software. No matter how advance the hardware is, if the software is not capable the business can’t get desired results. So it is very important that each business knows how to choose a best queue management system software.

Here are some key points that a business should consider while selecting a queue management software:

1. Queue Management Software Features

The most important thing that a business should consider about the queue management software is its features and functionalities. Rest of everything comes later. If a queue management software is offering all the features that you need and you can use to improve the customer experience and customer journey, then move ahead for further evaluation. Here are some key features that a queue management software must have:

  • Interactive self-service sign-up terminal/kiosk
  • Capabilities to manage separate virtual queues for all available services
  • Features to improve customer waiting experience
    • Live queuing information updates on digital displays/signage
    • Multimedia content for customer engagements
    • Information about the estimated time remaining
  • Audio-visual customer calling
    • Multi-lingual queuing information on display
    • Multi-lingual audio customer calling
  • Dynamic Counter Plates and Digital Signs
  • Automatic Customer Journey Management
  • Ability to Detect Customer Types (ordinary, VIP, Premium, Customer with Special Needs, etc.)
  • Automatic Single Step and Multi-step Service Delivery and Customer Routing
  • Dedicated Agent Dashboard
  • Ability to Facilitate Service Delivery Process
  • Statistical and Analytical Data Collection & KPIs Monitoring
  • Customer Feedback Collection
  • Integrated Alerts for Customers and Management
  • Online Appointment Booking Module or Integration
  • Smartphone and Mobile Apps Interfaces
  • Virtual Queuing and Mobile Queuing Support
  • Easy Administration and Management

Queue Management Software Features

These are some of the basic and most common features of a queue management software. Any good queue management software must have at least these all features. These features will allow a business to effectively and efficiently manage their queues to ensure the ultimate customer satisfaction and customer experience. Some businesses might have certain needs hence required customized features, so a good quality queue management software must be able to accommodate such needs by third-party integration and customization.

Read More: Queue & Waiting Time Management

2. Queue Management Software Types and Cost

The term ‘software type’ is a pretty vague terminology, it could mean a lot of things, however in case of queue management software the type usually refers to the ownership type. The queue management system manufacturers in Dubai and all around the UAE offers certain types of queue management software, such as cloud based solution which is usually a SAAS type software, SAAS means software as a service. For that type the businesses will have to subscribe for the software, whether it is annual subscription or monthly the businesses subscribe for it. Here are some most common queue management software types:

  • Cloud Based Queue Management Software or SAAS
  • Purchasable Queue Management Software
  • Off-the-shelf Queue Management Software Solution
  • Customizable Queue Management Software

Queue Management Software Types and Cost

The cloud based queue management software solution (SAAS) is completely managed by the service provider. The service provider owns the actual queue management software and the business is only renting it out or subscribing for a limited time period. In such scenarios the queue management software customization is very limited and expensive too. In fact the service itself is very expensive.

Queue Management Software Types and Cost

The purchasable queue management software is fully-owned by the business. The vendor offer the software and the entire source code to the business. Usually that kind of queue management software are based on an open-source technology. It doesn’t require any regular subscription fee or renewal charges. The business had to purchase it once and then there is no renewal or any such cost.

Queue Management Software Types and Cost

The off-the-shelf queue management software are the software that came as a standalone package. The software is a one-time-purchase and there is no annual or monthly or any other rental or renewal fee. The business will have to purchase a software once and it will be a lifetime license. The only limitation is that the business wouldn’t be able to customize it. In case if they want to customize such queue management software they will have to revert back to the original vendor/manufacturer.

Queue Management Software Types and Cost

The customizable queue management software is a tailor-made queue management software and solution. Here in Dubai and in other parts of UAE the queue management system vendors usually charge once for the solution. The business owns the queue management software and it’s all source code as well. Such software are usually built on an open-source technology platform. The business who owns the customized queue management software can have full ownership rights and they can hire in-house programmer to do any further customization or they can hire any vendor who is well versed with the technology to do the customization or modifications for the business. This is the most convenient plan for long term use and is also the best choice for usability and cost-efficiency.

Read More: How The Technology Improve Your Business Using the Queue Management System?

3.Administrative Management and Monitoring Mechanisms

For a queue management software the primary objective is to improve customer journey and customer satisfaction, however, the administrative management and monitoring is also equally important. Eventually the management will have to configure the system and use the data collected from the system for business intelligence feeds. Usually when a business or organization is purchasing a new queue management software and solution they often overlooked the administrative management and monitoring aspects of the system. Later when they start using it, they face difficulties. It is very important that a queue management software provide a professional level of administrative management and controlling features. Because in every business there are certain levels of management with a predefined hierarchical structure. The queue management software should allow such management functionalities and any other work flow which is vital for the business and its operations.

Administrative Management and Monitoring Mechanisms

Usually businesses have multiple branches along with a head office or main branch, the head office always have access and control over all connected branches, then comes the branch managers who have full control over the queue management of their designated branch and then comes assistants, supervisors, agents/servers, etc. This is a basic management structure that almost every business follows, however, businesses could have multiple intermediary stages as well. Most of the time the queue management software offer a pre-defined management structure, which can cause a lot of issue for the business so, it is important that the queue management software offers a flexible control over administrative access and job role assignment mechanisms. The branch manager and top level management, whether from the branch or from the head office will have real-time monitoring capabilities as per their respective authority and administrative control and job role. So, it is critically important that the queue management software allow the businesses to configure the job role and authority for admin users as per their convenience.

Read More: Queue Management System with Facial Recognition Technology

4. Third-Party System Integration Compatibility

Third party integration by definition means interfacing or connecting a database from another system to a system via APIs (Application Program Interface) or secure web services. The web-apps and digital software such as queue management software have revolutionized the businesses and their practices. Businesses can integrate advanced systems and solutions to work together to provide ultimate user experience and to get administrative and management related advantages. The third-party system integration not only allow two digital solutions or systems to share and synchronize data but it also allow them to share functionalities/resources. For example if a queue management software need to recognize a customer through their mobile number or customer ID, instead of managing a separate customer database it can linked to a system which is already managing that data, so the identification process can be done through the existing system which will save a lot of resources and cost. This is how a third party system integration works.

Third-Party System Integration Compatibility

In queue management software the third party system integration is used for various purposes and at various levels. The customer interface where the customers can sign-up for a particular queue for their required service and it can also be used at the agent dashboard to speed up the service delivery process. The third-party system integration is not only a unidirectional data traffic but it is a bidirectional data transfer. As the queue management software can fetch data from a third-party system using API integration it can also push or send data to a third-party system too. For example the queue management software can share the system usage data, reports, stats, customer feedback and other business intelligence data with any other performance management system or customer relationship management tools, etc. The queue management software can also effectively measure many staff KPIs which can be linked to the HR or employee performance management system for further use and so on and so forth. The third-party system integration make the queue management software more effective, useful and efficient. The businesses can utilize this feature for various purposes.

Read More: 5 Signs Your Business Requires a Queue Management System

5. Queue Management Software Collects Business Intelligence Data

Business intelligence data is an umbrella term that includes a lot of different types of statistical and analytical data. All of the historical data and the present data is then emerged and processed by purpose-made tools to compile actionable reports which enable a business to make informed decisions and build their future strategy. The business intelligence data is extremely crucial. It highlights the areas of improvements, businesses can easily understand market trends, and their customer, employees, and business can easily evaluate and assess their infrastructure, business practices and methods. Moreover the modern day queue management software also come with an in-built customer feedback and survey tool. Which further provide crucial insight and customer feedback data. That is why it is extremely important that a queue management system offer some kind of business intelligence data gathering and in-built analytical tools to compile that data into reports and downloadable formats.An ordinary queue management software can easily collect data from all important touch points of the customer journey.

Queue Management Software Collects Business Intelligence Data

However a good quality queue management software not only collect deeper insight. It can effectively capture each and every customer touch points, along with additional information and various customer trends and employee/staff performance or KPIs. These all different data feeds along with the customer feedback are stored in raw format. The analytical engine segregate them in various reports, such as executive trend report, corporate customer feedback reports, and much more. The queue management software can also provide daily, weekly and monthly reports. It should also provide tools to alert the management in case of any event such as if too many customers are giving negative feedback, if a particular service delivery is taking more than average time, etc. These functionalities are very helpful for the management and let them easily assess the employees, various business processes, service delivery mechanisms, customer journey and employee performance and business intelligence data is also capable of identifying the areas of improvements so that businesses can take appropriate actions and make future strategies to achieve ultimate customer experience and maximum operational efficiency, which minimize the cost and maximize the revenue and ensures steady growth.

Read More: Why should you adopt queue management systems?

Conclusion

A queue management software is absolutely necessary for businesses these days. In Dubai and other parts of UAE the service based industry is significantly modernized. The competition in the market is very high and the customer have too many options to go to. It is extremely important to provide your customers with a great customer journey and ultimate experience. A queue management system not only promises a great customer journey and experience but it also maximize the operational capabilities of a business and it also boosts employee performance. These are some of the major reasons each business wants to deploy a good quality queue management software. In the market there are too many vendors and manufacturers, which makes it a bit tricky to choose the best queue management software. The purpose of this blog was to guide our audience and customers about the necessary features and attributes that a good queue management software must have.

First of all any good queue management software must have certain features and functionalities that will enable it to perform better. Secondly there are different types of the technology and purchase plans which impact the cost and scalability. A good queue management software must also offer a very flexible administration and management controls so a business can implement their work flow and management polices without any trouble. The third-party system integration is a great tool to maximize the performance of the queue management software and it also allow the businesses to easily develop their innovative solutions for the performance and the management. The business intelligence data provides a deeper insight to the entire operational process and the customer journey. A queue management software is very powerful and effective tool, it have capability to make or break a business’s growth. If you still have some questions, feel free to ask. If you are planning to deploy a new queue management software or want to replace your existing system please do let us know. You can 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: Why do you need a queue management system?


Importance of Queue Management Software in 2021

The year 2021 is bringing us completely changed trends and new innovative ideas to counter those unprecedented changes in the trends and customers’ behavior. The queue management software is also getting modernized to meet the present day’s needs. Customer happiness is extremely important for a business. If your customers are not happy, no matter how great your products are or how competitive your prices are, eventually you will going to lose it. It is crucial that your customers remain happy and loyal to your brand. Customer happiness is the only indicator that shows everything is in place, it really doesn’t matter how hard you worked around the operational details, or IT infrastructure or training for the employees, or marketing or whatsoever. If your customer is not happy, nothing will pay off. This is what the business has realized in Dubai and all around the UAE and in the past few years business, enterprises, banks, the retail sector, healthcare, and all other industries are investing heavily in customer happiness solutions and systems.

The queue management software is one of the most important components of customer happiness solutions. Basically, the queue management software provides great control and helps in managing customer experience throughout the entire customer journey. With the new features and latest advancements in queue management software and technology a more personalized and digitalized experience is easily possible. In the year 2021 everyone is hoping to get a bit more contact-less and digitalized experience from their brands. That is why the queue management system’s software has to be improved to meet the demands and trends of 2021.

The queue management system hardware is usually the same as all available queuing solutions in Dubai, UAE. However, the software of each vendor is different and that is where you can distinguish them. Here are some reasons why queue management software is critically important when making a decision of installing a queuing solution:

Queue Management Software Help Improving Brand Identity by Improving Customer Experience and Customer Journey

Queue Management Software Help Improving Brand Identity by Improving Customer Experience and Customer Journey

The most important factor that contributes to customer happiness is the wait time. If your customers will have to wait for a long time to get their service done, they will get repelled or they will start seeking other options. The wait time is the single most negative factor that can completely ruin a business and its reputation. Reputation and brand image are everything, if a brand has a positive reputation and a great brand identity, it will not only help it to score more leads, but it will also help the brand to improve customer loyalty and customer retention. Which is the basic necessity for growth. The positive brand identity also attracts more customers and visitors. It is also very helpful in improving conversion rates for the other marketing efforts.

Automatic customer flow management and queue management significantly reduce the wait time. It automates the process hence there is no human intervention, which prevents a lot many complaints and problems that businesses have to deal with without a queue management system. The queue management software is also capable of automatically handling the customer journey, it can effectively direct the customers to their designated counters, for example, there are multiple services and for each service, there are designated counters, the customers or visitors might get confused and try to join the queue which has the least number of people in it, however, with a queue management software when a customer opts for the queue the system automatically assign them the queue as per their required service.

The same is also applicable in complex scenarios such as in the case of stepped service delivery, where a full-service delivery is done through multiple counters. The queue management software is also capable of identifying the priority customers and lead them to the priority counters for example the premium customers, or VIP customers, or customers with special needs, etc. All can be automatically directed to their designated counters. The queue management software also automatically manages the customer flow by directing the next customer to the vacant counters. Other features such as counter forwarding or routing customers to the counters who are completely vacant also save a lot of time and improve customer experience.

The queue management software also comes with an in-built announcement system and digital signage. This module enables audio-visual announcements and customer calls. Along with that it also helps to improve the customer waiting time experience as well by playing multimedia and engaging content on the digital signage. A queue management software is an excellent tool to improve customer experience and customer journey in the year 2021 when the entire market trends are changed and businesses are facing new challenges day by day. Improved customer experience results in a very positive brand image and brand identity which help businesses in customer retention and increase customer loyalty which is a basic necessity for growth and profitability.

Virtual Queuing Improves Customer Experience

Virtual Queuing Improves Customer ExperienceThe year 2021 is the year of going contactless and digital. Virtual queuing is a very effective feature of queue management software. It allows both, the digitalized experience and the contactless features as well. Virtual queuing is gaining popularity these days. There are certain reasons for that, one of the biggest advantages of virtual queuing is that the queue management software enables the visitors to sign-up remotely. Or we can put it this way that the customers and visitors are able to sign-up for the physical queue without even being physically present at the branch. There are multiple mediums that are used to allow remote sign-up for virtual queuing. For example, the customers and visitors can sign-up remotely via the website, customer portals, smartphone applications, phone calls, email, or SMS.

The remote sign-up not only facilitates the customers but also helps the staff and administration. Customer flow management becomes easier as there are not too many people in the waiting room. The social distancing measures are easy to implement. Businesses and organizations can easily control the number of active queues to limit the number of customers and visitors inside the branch to prevent crowd forming and other related problems. Virtual queuing significantly improves the customer experience and customer journey as well. As the customer is not required to physically stand in the lines or stay in the waiting areas, so the service delivery is quicker comparing to traditional queuing methods.

Smartphone Applications to Increase Customer Engagements

Smartphone Applications to Increase Customer EngagementsThese days in Dubai and all across the UAE the smartphone applications are very popular. In the past few years, smartphones have gotten very smart and powerful too. Customers love personalized experience and business too, as personalized experience increases customer engagements and improves customer satisfaction. The UAE is the most modernized nation in the MENA region and also in Asia. The government’s policies and initiatives to promote digitalization played an important role in the market trend. There are tons of government services that are just a few taps on your smartphone screen away. The general public is very adoptive and friendly towards smartphone applications. This immediately caught the attention of the marketers and businesses immediately start offering smartphone-based interactions and services to improve customer happiness and satisfaction.

The smartphone application linked to the queue management system enables the business and organizations to offer a great customer experience. The smartphone apps with queue management software allow the user to enjoy simpler and easier virtual queuing. The smartphone apps also provide a direct communication channel to provide an even more improved and personalized experience. The users can also avail themselves of so many services using smartphone applications, such as virtual queuing, customer feedback, complaints, appointments, etc. Smartphone applications when integrated with a queue management system software can do wonders in terms of customer experience and customer happiness.

Online Appointment Module to Improve Customer Journey

Online Appointment Module to Improve Customer JourneyThe modern-day queue management system software comes with an integrated online appointment booking module too. The appointment booking module is linked with multiple internal systems to build the customer experience. For example, the customer portals are linked with the online appointment booking modules, the online booking portal can be provided within the customer portals as well as on the website via a dedicated page or link. Usually, the appointment booking module is offered as a stand-alone tool via a website link, to allow the customers and visitors to book an appointment without logging in to their respective portals. In Dubai, UAE mostly we used open links, that don’t require login or sign in, instead, the visitors or customers can fill in basic information to book an appointment. Whether signed in or not both methods are equally effective.

Another great advantage of the online appointment booking module is that it provides all the details and information that are required by a customer or visitor to book an appointment, for example, the busiest days, hours, or least busy hours or days, etc. The appointment booking module of queue management software also provides real-time queuing information and data from several branches. It can also suggest the best option which ensures the quickest service delivery and so on and so forth. The queue management software with an appointment booking module is very helpful in maintaining social distancing and customer flow to further improve the customer journey.

Customer Feedback and Surveys Help Understanding Customer’s Needs

Customer Feedback and Surveys Help Understanding Customer’s NeedsThe year 2021 has completely different challenges and required a completely new approach to meet the demand and expectations of the customers. Another remarkable feature of a queue management system software is the ability to understand customer’s needs, demands, expectations, and ongoing market trends via customer feedback and survey module. These days in Dubai and all around the UAE most of the queue management systems provide in-built customer survey and feedback modules. The purpose of this module is to understand how customers and visitors are perceiving your brand’s efforts to improve their experience and journey. The customer feedback and survey module can provide direct feedback from the customers and visitors.

There are several ways to utilize this module, the best method is on-sight customer feedback and surveys and online or follow-up surveys. Usually business has placed touch screens or tablets and kiosk to collect customer feedback, as the queue management software is already linked to the internal information center so identifying the customer who is submitting feedback is very easy, the system can map the information of the customer who has been served on the counter along with their ticket number and then it also identifies the service and compile the feedback report. Such information is vital for a business to make future policies and strategies and to take vital actions to improve customer experience and customer journey, it also provides businesses a direct measurement of the efficiency of their current strategy and business practices. Such business intelligence is very helpful in keeping up with the needs, expectations, and demands of your customers to improve customer happiness and loyalty.

Increase Employee Performance and Profitability

Increase Employee Performance and ProfitabilityA queue management software is very helpful in improving employee’s performance and overall productivity which results in greater profitability and improved resource management. Without a queue management system, most of the employee’s efforts are wasted on managing the customers and visitors manually, but with a queue management system and software, all tasks are managed automatically. The employees don’t have to worry about the queues or managing crowd or any such problem. The customers will not go to have many complaints as they will know that the queue is managed by an automatic system and the system treats everyone equally.

Now when all those time-consuming tasks will be managed by intelligent queue management software, the employees will have less stress, they will be happy and satisfied, they will be able to serve more customers in a single shift and their performance will increase automatically. Another great advantage of queue management software is that it has the capability to fully automate or partially automate various customer journey steps and processes which also reduces the workload of the employees. The automation allows the employees to focus more on their primary tasks which improve the service quality as well.

When various business processes and customer journeys will be automatic then the businesses will require very little human resources to manage the operations. The dedicated employee dashboard or agent interface will boost the employee performance as well, which means fewer agents/servers will be required to manage the same number of customers and visitors, so the businesses can either serve more customers in a day or can reduce the number of staff if the number of customers or visitors remains same, in both cases the cost is reduced and the profit is increased. A queue management system software is also very effective in improving customer retention, employee performance, and overall profitability.

Reporting, Integration with Other Systems and Centralized Management

Reporting, Integration with Other Systems and Centralized ManagementA queue management software is critically important for growth as it provides a great source of very vital business intelligence. The business intelligence includes direct customer feedbacks, KPIs or key performance indicators, system usage stats, and various other information. This information is stored in the queue management software database, which is being processed by the in-built analytical engine and then compiled up in actionable reports which are available for the management. All the data is captured and updated in real-time and is processed immediately. This boosts the performance of the system as well. The reporting module and business intelligence data are very important for businesses to understand the customer’s behavior, employee’s performance, the effectiveness of their methods and policies, and much more. This data also helps businesses to make strategies for the future and do improvements in their methodologies, processes, and the quality of the service.

The queue management software is also very important as it can act as a bridge between multiple business and enterprise solutions and tools. It can easily be linked with various other data pools via secure web services or APIs. This system integration enables businesses to easily share data and information between various systems and it also makes the administration very simpler and easier. Another very important feature of the queue management software is centralized management or remote management, which enables the head office to manage all connected branches remotely from the head office. The head office can have full access to everything and they can also assign local, regional, or branch managers to provide them limited access to the branch or branches and areas under their supervision. This is a great feature for the corporate management to easily manage and monitor their entire operation from the head office.

Conclusion

A queue management software is critically important for a business in 2021 that is operating in Dubai or any other region of UAE. As we all know the year 2020 has completely transformed the landscape of the service-based industries so businesses and organizations are anxiously seeking ways to improve their customer experience and customer journey. The customer experience and customer journey help businesses to improve customer loyalty and customer retention. Which results in a good brand reputation and a positive brand image. The brand identity helps businesses to attract more customers and visitors, and it is also very helpful in increasing the conversion rates of all the marketing activities. A queue management software is at the foundation of all this, in fact, it is the foundation. Your entire future depends on how you are treating your customers today. A queue management software is the only tool that can help you improving your customer’s experience and the customer journey to improve customer happiness and customer satisfaction.

The queue management software also automates various business processes. It is capable of integrating with other enterprise tools and solutions which further enables the businesses to create innovative ways to improve their customer’s journey and experience. An efficient queue management software can provide you a great competitive edge which will ensure better customer retention and customer loyalty. Loyal customers are the most precious asset of a business. Especially in the year 2021 when the demands and the behavior of the customers are changing very quickly and the competition is getting tougher day by day a queue management system and software can be your strongest arsenal. RSI Concepts is a leading queue management system provider in Dubai, UAE. If you want to install a new queue management system or want to replace your outdated queue management software, feel free to reach us out 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: 7 Features of Queue Management Software


7 Features of Queue Management Software

A queue management system (QMS) consists of two major parts, a hardware section, and a software section. Both the queue management system software and hardware have different components and accessories. These components, accessories, and modules are used to build certain features in the system. These days in Dubai and all around the UAE the more modernized and customized queue management systems are being used. The primary objectives of the queuing solution are to manage the customer flow, improve customer experience and increase productivity. There are so many different types of queue management systems available in Dubai, UAE which could be very confusing for the business. This begs the question of which queue management system will suit you or how to distinguish between a good or bad or an average quality system? There are certain markers or features that a good queue management system software should have in general, if all those features are there then you can easily decide if it will suit you or not.

You must be thinking that there is hardware involved too so why we are only talking about the software, the only reason is that the hardware itself is nothing without the software, if the software is offering a certain feature then by default the hardware will come along. That is why we are focusing only on the software features. There are certain queue management systems that are purpose-built or dedicated to a certain industry or application only, even for those types of queuing solutions the queue management system software must have certain traits which will determine the effectiveness and productivity of the queuing solution.

Here are 7 features of queue management software that you should look for when acquiring a new queue management system:

1. Virtual Queuing

Virtual Queuing

A virtual queue management system is the modern day’s need. Since the year 2020 has completely transformed the customer experience and customer expectations too, the year 2021 is the year of more digitalized and personalized customer journey and customer experience. The social distancing and health and safety of the visitors and the staff is the top priority for any business these days. The virtual queuing module will help businesses to easily maintain and manage the active queues as per their capacity to ensure social distancing. Virtual queuing is not just for implementing social distancing but it is also offering a great digital experience.

The customers and visitors are allowed to sign-up even before arriving at the branch. This requires more efficient software that is linked with various other systems and tools to allow the customers to sign-up through different channels such as smartphone applications, SMS, calls, QR codes, etc. The virtual queue management system not only facilitates the customers and visitors but also reduces or literally eliminates the wait time. The customers can arrive at the very exact time of their turn and get the service done. That is a huge leap in terms of customer experience, from waiting for hours to waiting for a few minutes or even no wait can make your customers extremely happy. Various different market researches and studies showed that the average acceptable waiting time for an ordinary customer or visitors is thirteen minutes, any time later than that could harm the customer experience.

2. Separate Dashboards

Separate Dashboards

Any good queue management system should have separate user dashboards with dedicated interfaces to increase efficiency. This feature also makes the administration easier and more managed. There are usually three main interfaces or dashboards in a queue management system:

  • Customer Interface
  • Agent Interface
  • Admin Interface

The customer interface is always separate from the other two. In Dubai and all around the UAE the traditional queue management systems usually provide an interactive kiosk-based customer interface. The customers and visitors can sign-up for the queue and get a ticket or token issued bearing their queue number and some other information.

The agent dashboard is usually a web-based dashboard. This dashboard provides the basic controlling and monitoring of the current queues and their statuses along with the facility of customer calling and managing the customer flow. Sometimes the admin dashboard is also used for the same purpose, but mostly the agent or server dashboard is kept separate.

The admin interface or administrative console is also a web-based control panel. This not only provides administrative control over the entire branch or overall connected branches but also provides data analysis and reporting features too. The management can add multiple levels of administrative roles or job roles with respective authority and data access policies to establish an administrative hierarchy.

3. Remote Management and Real-time Monitoring

Remote Management and Real-time MonitoringWhether you are implementing the queue management system in a single branch or office or you don’t even have another branch at all, remote management and real-time monitoring are must-have features for any good queue management system. The remote management will let the managers and the higher management manage the queuing system and handling some other system administrative tasks while they are not sitting inside the branch or office. The real-time monitoring is also providing real-time system updates and live information about the ongoing customer flow and other queuing data.

However, if your business has multiple branches and is located in multiple cities the remote management and real-time monitoring becomes very handy. For example, your head office is located in Dubai, and you are a manager who is responsible for the customer experience and customer flow. You must need a system to get the updates and monitoring features so you don’t have to call or contact the branch manager to get the required info regarding the customer flow and customer experience.

The remote monitoring and real-time updates are achieved by linking all the branches and locations to the main location or head office. The queue management software has a server-side application that can be hosted locally or online. The administrative dashboard and interface allow the higher management to get access to the data and information of any branch, and on top of that, all the queuing information and statistical data have been updated regularly. This makes a queue management system a great tool to monitor and control the customer journey and customer experience at all branches without even going there or following the long manual workflow and internal processes.

4. Customer Feedback System

Customer Feedback SystemAs the primary objective of a queue management system is to improve the customer journey and customer experience. Despite investing a lot and making a lot of efforts how would a business know if their efforts are in the right direction or not? The simplest answer is to ask directly to the customers and the best way to do it is via a customer feedback system or via a customer happiness scale. The customer happiness scale or customer feedback system is used to collecting customer feedback and is usually placed at the very last step of the service delivery so when the customer got everything done, they should be asked to share their opinions.

A good modern-day queue management system must have an in-built customer feedback system or a customer feedback module. In some cases, the external customer feedback systems are also linked to the queue management systems as well. The objective here is to understand the customer’s experience. As a queue management system is designed to manage the customer experience throughout the entire customer journey, so it is important to understand how your customers feel about it.

Normally touch screens or tablet stands are used and placed at the counters or at the exits depending upon the infrastructure of the premises. The customer feedback is collected in the form of a happiness meter or scale or a small customer survey. The important thing here to understand is to keep the feedback process simpler and easier. Traditionally a happiness meter suffices, but in certain cases, a short customer survey is also helpful. There should be only two to three questions in the survey and maybe some contact details too. Anything more than that and the customer will not attempt it, or even if some of them do attempt the survey, it will impact the wait time as the next customer can’t be called until the first person is completely done with the counter.

5. Reports, KPIs, and Business Intelligence Gathering

Reports, KPIs, and Business Intelligence GatheringEach and every industry has some standards and norms. Similarly, different regions have different business practices and different standards as well. Likewise in Dubai and all across the UAE all of the leading queue management system providers also offer a reporting module along with their queue management system software. However, there are certain things that you must consider before implementing the queue management system, for example, a comprehensive reporting module, an in-built data analytical engine, KPIs or key performance indicators, and business intelligence gathering.

The KPIs or key performance indicators are for the employees and the agents/server. These indicators capture various stats and performance markers. For example, how long is an employee taking to serve a customer? Which service is taking the longest time and so on? Which employee is handling most customers in a day? Which employee is getting the most positive or negative feedback? And a lot more. These indicators will help management to understand and monitor the performance of the individual employees as well as of the teams and branches as well.

However, business intelligence is gathered through various touchpoints, statistical data, performance indicators, and customer feedback. The queue management system can also help businesses in understanding the customer journey and various other factors that are very helpful for making decisions and taking steps to improve the customer journey and customer experience. Such data and information are crucial for strategy making and planning for the future. The business can utilize the data to understand the expectations and needs of their customers to make adjustments to further improve customer experience and customer journey.

6. Flexibility to Integrate via APIs

Flexibility to Integrate via APIsAny modern queue management system whether it is a general-purpose or a dedicated solution for a certain application/industry must have certain capabilities to integrate into the main information center or IT infrastructure of the organization. As we have mentioned a few things above such as virtual queuing, smartphone applications, online appointment booking, etc. All such features can be provided by a queue management system acting as a standalone solution or synchronizing and integrating with the other enterprise solutions & systems.

Such integration is achieved via secure web services or also known as APIs. System integration is a very important feature of a queue management system. It allows the queuing system to communicate with other databases and business tools to further improve the customer journey and customer experience. Integration is also very important to boost system efficiency and productivity.

The system integration via APIs not only allows the queue management system to get access to certain data but also allows the system to feed in data to other systems for other purposes as well. For example, customer feedback can be synched with the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software. The KPIs indicators can feed the overall enterprise performance management system for certain inputs. System integration opens up the ways for innovation and creativity and provides businesses with more flexibility, control, and better efficiency.

7. Future Scalability, Upgrades, and Maintenance

Future Scalability, Upgrades, and MaintenanceThe capability to scale and upgrade to meet the future’s requirements is something that is mandatory for any kind of business solution. Businesses are very skeptical of upgrades, future scalability, maintenance, and the expected cost for all such activities. As an IT solution is a long-term investment so the annual maintenance, future upgrades, and scalability are always a big concern for businesses. However, in the case of Queue Management Systems, these things are not as that complicated. The future scalability of the queue management systems is relatively easier. For example, if you have a queue management system installed in 3 branches and want to expand it to another two, it can be done by simply installing more basic devices and doesn’t require any core change or upgrade. Mostly the queue management system software is already built to support expansion.

Keeping in mind the rapid changes in the market trends and customer behavior in Dubai, UAE the capabilities of future upgrades are extremely important. A modern-day queue management system should be able to offer very cost-effective future upgrades and modifications to meet the ever-growing demands. The upgrades and modifications to the queue management system software can only be achieved if the system is designed to be friendly with such changes, else it would be difficult, costly, and problematic.

Another important aspect of the queue management system and its software is the regular maintenance and its cost. The queue management systems overall and their software are constructed on widely available platforms and technologies. The queuing systems are designed to be operated 24/7 and hardly require any reboot or maintenance for several years. So, the maintenance cost of the queue management system software and other components is very easy, simple, and cheaper comparing to any other IT solution.

Conclusion

As Dubai and all around the UAE businesses these days are actively seeking solutions to improve their customer journey by effectively managing the customer experience and employees’ productivity. A queue management system is the only tool that can help businesses effectively manage and improve the customer experience, customer journey, and service delivery methods. Most of the businesses have already implemented a digital queuing solution and are currently seeking to replace it or upgrade it, while others are eagerly looking to catch up by implementing a brand new queue management system. As the year 2020 has completely transformed the market trends and customer behavior the year 2021 is the year of adopting the new standards. That is the reason many businesses who are seeking to boost their productivity and profitability are planning for a queue management system to meet the needs of their customers.

There are so many queue management system suppliers operating in Dubai, UAE and there are so many different queue management systems available too. The difficulty is how to choose an appropriate queuing solution that could help you to achieve your objectives and goals. The purpose of this blog was to let our readers a better understanding of the queue management system software and we have listed 7 features of queue management software which will help our audience to easily judge a queue management solution. The most important thing to consider is that if the queue management system software is capable enough to provide you features and functionalities that will help you achieve the highest efficiency in terms of customer happiness and employee performance.

Another important thing to consider is the capability to scale for future needs, upgrades, and easy maintenance. The cost is always a big concern of the businesses so the upgrade, expansion, and maintenance should be very cost-effective and less time-consuming. RSI Concepts is one of the leading queue management system providers in Dubai, UAE we serving our customers for more than a decade with a very high success rate. We are here to help you find a great queuing solution for you that will not only help you build up a positive brand reputation but will provide you a great competitive edge too. Feel free to reach us out 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: Queue Management Challenges 2021