What is a queuing system Archives - RSI Concepts - Top IT Solution Provider Company in Dubai, UAE

January 11, 2023

Why a Virtual Queuing System Is Better Than Clipboard and Pen

The businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE are well-aware of the queuing difficulties and problems. Especially the retail and service-based industry suffers the most. The businesses who require their customers to arrive at their location or branch in order to make a transaction are the ones with more intense queuing and crowd management problems. Traditionally the queuing process is managed via clipboard and pen. Businesses doesn’t use any tool or complex software solution for their queuing and crowd management needs. This caused very serious problems and businesses have started noticing higher walk-out rates.

Furthermore the market conditions, customer behavior and other factors also started transforming the queuing industry. We have witnessed the rapid and in-depth integration of smartphones and other digital technologies in our both work and private lives. The customer experience has become much more important than ever before in recent times. In fact there are several studies and market researches which suggest that an ordinary customer place experience equal to the quality of the product or service they are acquiring. The clipboard and pen based conventional queue management methods are unable to offer a better customer experience.

Furthermore the modern workplaces are heavily data driven the businesses need a tons of data in order to function properly hence there are several technological solutions and software that are considered to be absolute necessity for the modern businesses. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE in fact anywhere in the world, the cost of the labor and retaining employees is very expensive. In order to improve operational capabilities a business might have to hire more employees. First of all more employees doesn’t necessarily means optimized and improved productivity, you must also have to have management mechanisms in place in order to maximize the outcome of the teams and individual employees.

That is the reason businesses implement digital solutions and software. The digitalization and IT help businesses in achieving maximum performance with far less employees and far less sophisticated management. In fact a single employee can produce an outcome worth of a team’s work if proper technology and digital tools are in place. Same is applicable to queuing process as well. Businesses need a proper technology to maximize the success rate and in order to achieve their strategic and long-term business goals.

What is Virtual Queuing?

The virtual queuing is a modern form of digital queue management systems. The traditional digital queue management systems have greatly improved the queuing process however, the virtual queuing have completely revolutionized it. The traditional queuing significantly improve customer flow, reduce their wait time, improve management and enhance customer experience. But the virtual queuing have amplified all those advantages with innovative features and integration of modern technologies and digital platforms. The virtual queuing not only allow your customers and visitors to sign-up remotely for virtual queues but it also provide them freedom doing so without being physically present at the premises.

This means that the customers and visitors can sign-up for a virtual queue while they are at their home or work and their wait time starts right away, they will be served on time as per their ticket or e-ticket number without being physically waiting or standing in queues at the business’s premises. This is the major difference between a traditional digital queue management system and virtual queue management system. The virtual queuing further enhance customer experience by providing facility to sign-up using multiple remote channels and other useful features. This is what make virtual queuing more superior than the traditional digital queue management systems.

Why a Virtual Queuing System is better than a Traditional Clipboard and Pen Method?

The virtual queuing system can completely eliminate all pain points that cause a lot of problems in the traditional clipboard and pen line management methods. That is the main reason of implementing a digital virtual queuing system. Furthermore the virtual queuing system also offers a tons of benefits and can help businesses effectively compete in the modern marketplace. Here are the common problems that a traditional clipboard and pen method has along with key advantages of using a virtual queuing system:

Common Problems with Traditional Clipboard and Pen Waiting Line Management

The traditional manual queuing management with clipboard and pen is an outdated process. It is not effective anymore and the businesses need a better management tool to ensure a smooth customer experience. Here are some very common problems that businesses and customers face with a traditional clipboard and pen based queuing management methods:

Unclear Wait Time: The wait time is one of the most important factor in queue management and it have profound impact on the customer experience. The manual clipboard and pen based queuing management can’t estimate wait time or provide a clear information to the customer which is also the cause of most of the complaints.
Higher Customer Churn Rate: The manual clipboard and pen based queuing management always have higher walk-out rate which is called customer churn rate. The customer churn rate is represent a great loos of the sales, not only that it results in unhappy and unsatisfied customers who will share their experience with others which will harm your business’s brand image.
Inconvenient for Employees: The biggest problem with the clipboard and pen based queuing system is that only one employee at a time can have it. But that is not practical, usually more than one staff will have to manage the waiting lines hence they will have to constantly pass the clipboard and pen to the next employee. Furthermore the handwriting and typo also cause more problems.
Poor Customer Experience: The customers can never be provided with the accurate estimated time to their turn, usually it crosses the value the staff estimates due to several factors. However, another critical problem is that the clipboard and pen based queue management requires customers and visitors to stand nearby or in waiting lines, hence they have less freedom and could feel bound which results in frustration and unhappiness.
No Data Collection: The business intelligence data is vital for strategy making and decision taking processes. A clipboard and pen based queuing system cannot gather any kind of business intelligence data. It is nearly impossible to understand customer behavior, their experience, the waiting time and employee performance, etc. using clipboard and pen queuing management method. Without clear information decisions and strategies have too much guessing work which reduce the success rate and can undermine the profitability and productivity of a business.

The waiting line management can be very challenging for businesses. There are several factors that contribute to long waiting lines and their repercussions on customer experience. The clipboard and pen queuing is a very old waiting line management method. Due to its inherent disadvantages and flaws businesses started adopting more modern and technologically advanced queuing methods such as implementing a digital queue management system. Here are some key advantages of virtual queuing that will help you significantly improve customer experience, and drive efficiency and productivity in the internal business processes.

Advantages of a Virtual Queuing System

Any digital queue management system can offer a great efficiency comparing to traditional clipboard and pen methods. However, the virtual queuing is considered to be the most modern and advanced form of queue management systems. The virtual queuing system help businesses achieve a better customer flow and improve customer journey and experience. The customer experience drives customer loyalty, and the customer loyalty is a key to long term success. Furthermore the virtual queuing system is also a great tool to collect highly valuable business intelligence data which help businesses understand and evaluate their internal processes, customer experience and much more.

The virtual queuing system utilizes the most commonly used communication channels and mediums to make it more convenient for an average customer or visitor to access to the system. The virtual queuing also help reducing the customer wait time and provide better control over the customer flow. The crowd prevention features help management dealing with any unexpected scenario and large influx of the customer and visitors. The virtual queuing system is based on an AI (artificial intelligence) based smart software engine which also facilitate communication and improve customer engagements. Here are the key advantages of a virtual queuing system which make it far more superior than the conventional clipboard and pen methods.

Advantages of Virtual Queuing System: Easy Remote Sign-up Features

One of the biggest advantage of a virtual queuing system is that it offers multiple remote sign-up methods. Which makes it more convenient and easier for the customers and visitors to sign-up remotely without being physically present at the business premises. There are multiple channels that can be integrated with virtual queuing system such as SMS, Call Center, Online Booking, Customer Portals, Corporate Website, Queue Management System Mobile Apps, WhatsApp, QR Code, etc. All these channels help customers sign-up easily without any need of physically appearing at the business.

The customers are signed-up remotely for virtual queues, no matter if they are present at the business premises or not they will remain on their designated positions in the queue and will be called upon their turn. This means that if a customer plans to visit a bank branch or a customer service center they can sign-up while they are at home or work, and they will be issued an e-ticket which will contain their token number and the estimated time to their turn. Hence they can plan their visit with more freedom and convenience which definitely enhance their experience and raise their happiness and satisfaction.

Advantages of Virtual Queuing System: Significantly Low Wait Time

The wait time is one of the most impactful aspect of queuing process. Longer wait time will always hurt your customer experience and it will also cause increase in customer churn rate. Furthermore the longer customer wait time also causes unsatisfied service experience and it creates other management related problems such as it will impact your employee efficiency and resource management strategy. Furthermore there are two different types of wait time that we consider in queuing process. One is the actual wait time and the other most important phenomenon is the perceived wait time. The perceived wait time is just the imagination of human brain. The human brain works in very peculiar ways, if the waiting experience is not so good, the actual wait time could be 1 minute but we will feel it like 5 minutes or so.

That is why the perceived wait time is very important for customer experience. The biggest advantage of virtual queuing system is that it not only reduce the actual wait time but it also help minimizing the perceived wait time as well. As the customers and visitors can sign-up remotely and only required to arrive at the time of their turn so the wait time can be reduced to literally none. Even if a customer arrive before some time it would be marginal and they will have to wait very little which is why the virtual queuing system is one of the best in terms of managing customer wait time.

Advantages of Virtual Queuing System: Increase Customer Engagements

Customer engagement is another important factor of queuing management process. Engaged customers are tend to tolerate more wait time comparing to less engaged customers. For that different queue management systems use different techniques, for example a traditional digital queue management system offers digital signage screens and audio/visual announcement system which help engaging customers and keep them distracted from the waiting and reduce their stress. The digital signage are used to display the live queuing information along with multimedia content which keep users busy. Furthermore the audio/visual announcement system also keep announcing ticket number upon each customer call in multiple languages which also keep user distracted from the waiting and help reducing their stress and boredom.

The virtual queuing system offers all these features and on top of that it also offers a bi-directional communication channel. Since most of the customers and visitors who are using virtual queuing would spend very less time in waiting areas so the communication channels help businesses provide queuing information, updates, notification, alerts and also a chatting facility via dedicated chat boxes or WhatsApp, etc. The service agents can also update customers in case of any urgent update or change in their turn, etc. These all features help businesses increase the customer engagement which is essential for reducing the wait time stress. It greatly help improving customers’ waiting experience and increase their satisfaction.

Advantages of Virtual Queuing System: Improved and Automated Customer Flow

The customer flow management always have huge impact on the overall performance and efficiency of the queuing process. Each business offers multiple services, these services are offered through multiple counters. Sometimes businesses also multi-stepped services or stepped services which require a customer to visit at least two or more counters in order to avail a full service. Then there are different customer segmentations on the bases of the customers and visitors demographics and service type. For example, businesses could have dedicated counters for elderly visitors, people with special needs, VIP or Premium customers and service-bound segregation. All these segregations means that each customer group will be treated differently or could have different customer experience expectations.

On top of that in a real-life queuing scenario there are several other variables that can impact your customer flow such as longer service delivery time than expected, unwanted delay due to disputes, additional requirements or any such thing, all these factors can disrupt a regular customer flow. Hence the businesses need a mechanism in place which can order the customer flow by monitoring real-time queuing data and taking automated decision in order to ensure maximum customer flow is sustained. The dedicated administrative dashboard and smart software engine of the virtual queuing system will help businesses define and implement their queuing policy in a fully automated manner.

Hence the virtual queuing system monitors system usage stats and data from touch points to take real-time decisions which help improving the customer flow and improve customer experience by reducing their wait time and solving such problems.

Advantages of Virtual Queuing System: Improve Productivity and Employee Performance

For any business the productivity and performance are essential needs. Without achieving higher productivity and performance a business can never achieve higher profitability which is crucial for long term success and growth. The clipboard and pen based queuing system is slow, restricted and outdated. It cannot meet the needs of the modern market requirements. A digital queue management system on the other hand is very advanced, it improves productivity and performance and help businesses in resource management. A virtual queuing system can collect a variety of employee performance data which is also very helpful in improving employee performance. It can track all employee activities and their progress of the day.

On top of that it provides various performance KPIs and analytical tools which help management in evaluating employee performance and help them taking actions in right direction to improve performance and productivity. Furthermore in any queuing management scenarios the employees who are serving customers need to perform several pre and post-service tasks. These tasks can be time consuming, however, with the help of the virtual queuing system and its ability to integrate it with other internal systems and central information center can help reducing employee efforts and maximize their performance. It also keep employee free from any task related to customer flow and line management as all that is done automatically. Hence the employee performance and productivity if significantly improved.

Advantages of Virtual Queuing System: Collect Valuable Business Intelligence Data

The modern day and age is completely dominated by technology and data. The AI (artificial intelligence), big data, cloud, electric cars, smartphones and such technologies are so popular that every day we are reading something about them. The technology have completely revolutionized our daily work and personal lifestyle. The modern businesses are heavily relying on IT and data for their day-to-day tasks as well as for basing their strategies and policies upon it. The term business intelligence is self-explanatory. The business intelligence data is insight about the matters relate to your business. It could and should include both internal and external factors. The data gathering is crucial for any modern business as their most of the policies and strategic decisions will be solely based on the reports and inputs of their data analysts.

The traditional clipboard and pen queuing method is unable to collect the required data in fact it is nearly impossible to collect any business intelligence data with that method. The virtual queuing system on the contrary can provide a wealth of valuable business intelligence data. The virtual queuing system is capable of collecting system usage and analytical data from each and every touch point of the customer journey and it can also capture insight from other connected systems and tools. Furthermore the virtual queuing system also provide enriched analytical tools and customized reporting features which also help businesses getting the full advantage of the precious business intelligence data.

Advantages of Virtual Queuing System: Effectively Collect High-Quality Customer Feedback Data

Customer feedback data is vital for a healthy business growth. It help businesses acquire a deeper and better understanding of the customers, their behavior and market trends. Businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE actively work on their customer feedback management campaigns. For that usually businesses use a dedicated customer feedback management tool. The virtual queuing system offer two different method to implement customer feedback management tools. You can integrate your CRM or existing customer feedback management tool with the virtual queuing system or you can utilize the in-built customer feedback management module of the virtual queue management system to collect customer feedback data.

It is far more convenient to conduct customer feedback campaign using the in-built customer feedback tool of the virtual queuing system. As the queue management system is already taking information about the customer and the service they need. Hence no need to input that data again during the survey. Which will make your survey small and it will definitely increase the response rate. Furthermore the customer feedback data can easily be analyzed with in-built analytical tools or it can be relayed to a third party system, CRM or any other customer feedback system or it can be integrated with the central information center for better data analysis and data sharing tasks.

See More: 5 Ways to Manage your Customer Service Queues

Conclusion

For any business managing queues and large influx could be a challenging task. For that businesses hire additional staff adopt modern practices and implement technologies. The queue management process is a very complicated process. Especially in Dubai and all around the UAE where the markets are very advanced, the customers are savvy and the competition is tough. Furthermore the customer experience has become a phenomenally important factor in any business’s success. It is not just in UAE but all over the world, the customers are willing to pay extra if they are provided with a better experience. That is why businesses need to focus more on customer experience and customer satisfaction.

When it comes to queuing management system the clipboard and pen queuing method is very old and outdated. It is limited, have several restriction, and this method doesn’t collect any business intelligence data. These are the reasons businesses decided to implement more advanced and technology based digital queue management systems. The virtual queuing system is the most modern and highly advanced form of a traditional digital queue management system. It not just only offers all advantages of a tradition queue management system but it also help boosting system efficiency and enhancing customer experience.

The virtual queuing system is a great tool to maximize the efficiency of your queuing process. It also help enhancing customer experience and it is a great tool to capture valuable business intelligence data. In this blog we have discussed why a virtual queuing system is better than clipboard and pen. We have listed the common problems and drawbacks of clipboard and pen based queuing process and we have enlisted the key advantages of the virtual queuing system. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to implement a highly customized and tailor-made virtual queuing system for your business please 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.

December 9, 2022

Key Tips to Improve Service Quality through Queue Management System

For any business the primary goals is to satisfy its customers, generate more revenue and grow. The service sector in Dubai and all around the UAE is very concerned about the rapid changes in the market trends, market behavior and technology advancements. The customer experience and service quality are the most important factors for any business’s success. However, each business will have to find a balance between the resources they have and the quality of service they provide. Investing a lot of resources in service delivery processes can surely improve the service quality but this approach could jeopardize the growth. That is why each business has to maximize the efficiency, productivity and performance in order to achieve the high quality of work with whatever the resources they have in hand. For that businesses adopt different methods and bring innovative solutions to maximize the operational efficiency and the quality of the work. This enable businesses to utilize their resources at maximum potential and achieve higher performance efficiency.

When it comes to efficiency and quality of work, for the service based businesses the service centers are the main customer facing channels. Customers tend to visit the service centers to avail various different services, for that the business have multiple counters in a service center to ensure maximum customers get served with minimum wait time. Sometimes there are some exclusive counters for some exclusive services, sometimes there are stepped services which require customers to go to multiple counters to get the full service and so on. There could be different service methods and work flows as per the business model and their practices. However, one thing in customer service centers is universal and very common, which is long waiting lines. The queue management is one of the most critical business function. Different service based industries have different footfall patterns, but all have some peak hours or busy days than the others. The customer footfall will be higher in certain hours of the day which could cause slow moving queues, long waiting time, and even crowed formation is common. That is why a digital queue management system is used to deal with these sort of problems. In this blog we will discuss how a queue management system improves the efficiency of the branch and how it improves service quality.

What is a Digital Queue Management System?

A digital queue management system is a modern solution to manage queues at the large customer service centers. The queue management system is a digital tool, it consists of two parts, one is software and the other is hardware. The major hardware components are interactive kiosk or ticket dispensing machine, digital signage and audio announcements system. The software is designed with highly advance AI (artificial intelligence) based smart algorithms which makes queue management system capable to continuously reading analytical data and take decision in real-time to maximize the efficiency of the queuing process. The queue management system software is usually hosted at a server, or online or at cloud. The agents gets their agent dashboard which provide them features to perform their queuing related tasks and it can also help them improve the service delivery process. The customer UI (user interface) is designed for the interactive kiosk.

However, some modern queue management system allow customers to interact with the system through multiple channels such as smartphone apps, online portals, and other channels. The administrative dashboard is for the management and staff and it is the main command and control system of the queue management system. Furthermore there are different types of software and hardware accessories that can be added to the system on the bases of needs of the business. The virtual queuing is the most modern form of the queue management system it is capable of reducing the customer wait time to literally none. There are several hardware accessories that can be added to the queue management system such as Emirates ID card reader, passport scanners, RFID Job ID Card Reader, Barcode & QR Code reader and several others. The software is capable of integrating with several systems and databases which allow the queue management system to offer more innovative features to enhance customer experience and to maximize the service quality.

Key Advantages of a Queue Management System that Help Improving Service Quality

The queue management system is used to deal with day-to-day queuing problems. However, the queue management system doesn’t only regulate the customer flow but it is a very capable tool which can help improving each and every touch point of the customer journey. The service quality doesn’t only depends on the capabilities of the service agent, in fact there are a lot of other variables which help businesses gradually improve the service quality. If a business is failed to manage the customer flow and the queues effectively the customers will have to wait longer, their waiting experience would be average or mostly below average, they will get waiting stress and they could reach counter in a highly uncomfortable mental state. After a long waiting time most of the customers just want to get everything done as quickly as possible, hence they make the job of service agent more difficult. Moreover when the queues are poorly managed the service agents also have a lot more work to do, they will get distracted from additional tasks to manage the queues, communicating with the customers in the waiting lines, and much more. Which effect their performance. All this led to a poor service quality. Here are the key advantages of a queue management system that help businesses improving the service quality.

Reduced Wait Time

One of the most crucial part of customer journey is the wait time and it could have profound effect on service delivery as well. As per industry standards and several international studies the average acceptable wait time for a customer is 5 to 13 minutes, depend on the industry. In traditional and manual queuing environment an average wait time could reach somewhere from 20 to 100 minutes on an average, depends on the footfall and industry type. However a digital queue management system can reduce the customer wait time by 30% to 70% depends on the industry. Furthermore the virtual queuing is a highly efficient queue management system which can literally reduce the wait time to zero. That much of reduction in the customer waiting time can have significant impact on customer happiness and customer satisfaction. Traditionally the queue management is not an easy task, it requires a lot of manpower and even then it cause a lot of problems which result in customer unhappiness and dissatisfaction, such as line jumpers, long waiting lines, dispute among customers, customer complaints about favoritism or poor management and much more. All these issues not only make your customers unhappy and frustrated but also have a toll on the employee performance.

A digital queue management system let customers sign-up for the virtual queues, hence they don’t have to physically wait in the lines. It offer customers freedom to wait comfortably in the designated waiting areas and help improving their experience. Furthermore the queue management system is a digital tool, hence the customers and visitors knows that the queues are managed by a computer operated program. This assure them there would be no line jumping, no favoritism and no mismanagement. Hence the customer complaints reduced to literally none. The queue management system automates the customer sign-up processes with the help of self-service solutions. Furthermore the self-service interactive ticket dispensing kiosk can be used to acquire some basic information about the customer’s needs. Which help queue management system to put them in the right queue. Furthermore the queue management system can divert customers from one counter to another in real time to ensure maximum efficiency. This entire process is automated, hence the wait time is significantly reduced. Since there is no human involvement the entire process is automated, the efficiency is high which improve customer flow and reduce wait time.

Improve Customer’s Waiting Experience

Reducing the customer wait time is a great advantage however, the improving the customer waiting experience could double their satisfaction. There are certain features that a queue management system offers which help businesses improve the customer waiting experience. The wait become more difficult if we don’t know how long we would have to wait. A queue management system captures analytical and system usage data, it also monitor several employee performance KPIs. The AI based smart algorithms can easily determine the expected wait time. Publishing the expected wait time help reducing the stress of the customers. Furthermore the digital signage keep displaying the live queuing information which also keep customers engaged and distracted from the waiting. The queue management system also allow businesses to publish multimedia content for information and entertainment to keep user busy. The multi-lingual audio announcement system keep announcing the next ticket number. These all things keep user distracted from the boredom of the waiting and keep them engaged which reduced the stress of the waiting and improve customer’s waiting experience.

Improve Customer Flow

The customer flow is of the major aspect of queue management. Usually in each service center there are several counters, there are several services and each service is different from the other. There are so many factors that can affect the customer flow. For example, some services take more time than the others, there are certain services which can be only offered by the exclusive counters, different service agents work on different pace, etc. All these factors can impact the customer wait time. The queue management system take account of all these aspects and it is capable of taking fully autonomous decisions in real time, which enable it to utilize the full potential of the service agents and maximize the productivity. For example, if a particular service is offered at 3 out 10 counters, two of the service agents are working at a good pace, one is relatively slower and takes more time to serve a customer than the peers. In such case the queue management system can sense the customer flow pace, and it can move more customers from the fast moving queues than the slow moving queues to maintain the balance which also increase the overall performance of the team.

Furthermore there are several services which are exclusive and there are customer groups which require different treatment as per the business policy. In such scenarios the queue management system can completely understand the customer route and ensures a smooth customer flow. The queue management system can automatically direct the premium or VIP customers to exclusive counters, it can direct the customers to the designated counters based on their service requirements. If a counter stopped, it can automatically divert and distribute the load at the other counters. These features are fully autonomous, the businesses can configure their policies as an instruction set for the system and the queue management system takes all the decisions in real-time based on the data it is capturing from different sources and touch points. The queue management system can also effectively improve the customer flow for the stepped services. A stepped service is a service that is distributed among more than one counters, the queue management system can not only ensures smooth customer flow but it also direct customers to the next steps. Basically the automation plays a vital role in maximizing the customer flow.

Offer Virtual Queuing

The virtual queuing is the most modern and advanced type of queue management system. The virtual queuing allow customers to utilize remote channels and mediums to sing-up remotely for the queues. It means that the customers are not required to be physically present at the branch. The virtual queue management systems are integrated with multiple channels, such as queue management system mobile apps, online customer portals, company website, SMS, QR Code, WhatsApp, etc. All these channels improve customer experience by providing them freedom and control over their interaction and facilitate each customer journey step. Since the customers are signing up remotely, hence they can plan their visit to arrive only when their turn comes. They don’t have to sit in the waiting areas anymore. They can do whatever they want to do, this offer a great relief to the customers and doesn’t put any waiting pressure on them. Furthermore the remote channels also allow businesses to enable communication with the customers and send them alerts and notifications to keep them updated with the queuing status. Less wait time means no stress or frustration, the customers get served as they arrived. This has a great impact on customer interaction and make it easier for the service agent to deliver a satisfactory experience.

Reduce Employee Workload and Improve Efficiency

With the traditional queuing the employee works under high pressure and they have to deal with a lot of unwanted tasks such as managing the queues, answering to people’s queries, solving their disputes, and such activities. This can have a serious impact on employee efficiency and on top of that the business will require a lot of additional staff to ensure a smooth customer flow during the peak hours. However, with the queue management system the employee doesn’t have to deal with any of such task, the entire customer flow is managed by the queue management system. This reduce the work load of the employee, furthermore the queue management system automatically manages the customer flow which is also very helpful in evenly distributing the customer among all available counters. When employee work under balanced workload their performance automatically got improved and they tend to be more satisfied. Moreover the queue management system can also be integrated with internal systems and other business tools which enables it to help service agents with their pre-service and post-service tasks, and reduce the delay. Happy and satisfied employees tend to deliver better service and on top of that since the customers also arrive with a calm and stress-free mind, it is easier to satisfy them.

Collect Business Intelligence Data and Improve Decision Making Processes

As the queue management system is a digital tool it has capability to collect and record analytical and performance data. The queue management system can collect information about the footfall, the peak hours/days, different patterns, the data about the service usage, the employee performance data and even the customer feedback data which help management to take informed decisions and based their policies and strategies upon the analytical, historic and feedback data to maximize the customer satisfaction and service quality. For example the understanding of the peak hours, will let the management effectively utilize resources, the understanding of the wait time can help understanding the strength and weaknesses of the queuing strategies. The employee performance data will help the management and the HR to design effective training programs and improve employee performance and technical competencies. Furthermore the customer feedback data help the management to understand the customer’s needs, expectations and desires. It also help identifying the areas of improvement and enable the businesses to gradually improve the services and service quality.

Integration with Third Party Tools and Databases

The queue management system is designed on a highly adoptive and technologically advanced platforms. Which enables businesses to easily integrate in the internal IT infrastructure and the central information center. This enables the queue management system to send and receive data to and from all integrated systems, databases and the central information center. The integration also allow queue management system to offer more innovative features. For example the integration with the customer database allow queue management system to identify the customers at the self-service ticket dispensing kiosk via the customer ID, barcode/QR code, or even with the Emirates ID Card and so on. Integrating biometrics identification is also very common among the HR departments. The integration also allow the queue management system to facilitate the agent’s tasks. For example each agent have to prepare for the next service, this preparation require accessing certain information that are required for the service delivery, which can be automatically pushed to the agent dashboard if the queue management system is integrated with the relevant systems and databases and so on. All these features are possible because of the integration capabilities of the queue management system and directly or indirectly help improving the service quality and customer experience.

Conclusion

The service quality for any service based business is the crucial and extremely important. If a business failed to deliver the high-quality service they can’t retain customers for long. The customer retention depends on the service quality and customer experience. If the customers are happy and satisfied they tend to become more loyal with the brand. The loyal customers are a great asset for any business and are considered to be the key to success. Furthermore several studies and market researches shows that it is 5 to 25 times more expensive acquiring a new customer than selling to an existing customer. That is why the customer happiness, satisfaction and loyalty is crucial for the businesses. When it comes to customer service quality and satisfaction the queuing plays a crucial role. The traditional and manual queuing methods have completely failed the businesses that is why the businesses are actively seeking digital solutions to improve their queuing process. A digital queue management system is one of the most effective tool to manage the queuing process and it also have several other benefits too. The queue management system help businesses streamline the customer flow and automates several internal process which further help businesses reducing the customer wait time.

The wait time is one of the most crucial aspect of customer experience. The reduction in wait time have great effects on the customer experience, furthermore the queue management system also help improving customer’s waiting experience and the virtual queuing is capable of completely eliminate the wait time. Furthermore the queue management system help improving the employee performance and it can also support them with their primary tasks. The queue management system can significantly reduce the employee workload, which also help increasing the employee service quality. The queue management system also collect and provide highly valuable business intelligence data. The business intelligence data help businesses evaluate their ongoing strategies and policies and provide them valuable information which enable them to gradually improve the strategies and help them making informed and fruitful decisions. RSI Concepts is a leading queue management system provider in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to deploy a highly effective, cost-efficient and customized queue management system, please 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.

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November 10, 2022

Benefits of Using Modern Queue Management Software

Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the businesses are transitioning towards a more customer-centric business model. This is due to the paramount importance of the customer happiness and customer satisfaction. Now a days the customer simply have too many options, if you failed to delight them they will immediately shift to a competitor. That is what makes customer happiness even more crucial for a long term success. The customer waiting lines are not avoidable, no matter what businesses do they will have to deal with the queuing issues. The customer waiting lines frustrates your customers as well as your employees. The employees too will have to do more work, they get distracted from their primary tasks. Most of the times businesses will have to hire more staff to deal with large flux of customers and visitors. Which also raise the operational expenses. The manual queue management also have a lot of problems that can completely ruin the customer experience. That is why a digital queue management system is used, it not only help reducing the customer wait time, it also streamline customer flow, automates customer journey and enhance their experience.

What is a Modern Queue Management Software?

A modern queue management system is a combination of software and hardware components. The queue management software is a server side application which is hosted on an online server, in-premises data center, or in a cloud. The hardware is majorly different devices which are connected with the software. The key hardware components include digital interactive self-service kiosk or ticket dispensing unit, the digital signage displays and the audio announcement system. The software included a server based application which have all the algorithms used to perform decision making tasks in real-time. The software also provides a service agent dashboard, which help service agents in interacting with the queue management system and it can also help them performing service delivery tasks. The queue management software also comes with an administrative dashboard, which is a control panel for the entire system. The head office and the branch managers or any other relevant staff have access to these dashboards. Some advanced queue management systems also offer virtual queuing and queue management system smartphone applications.

The customers and visitors can sign-up for the queues using the interactive self-service kiosks, where they are asked to choose the desired service, then a ticket is issued with their queue number. They got signed-up for the virtual queues, which means they don’t have to wait in physical waiting lines, and allow them freedom to wait in the waiting areas and lobbies or anywhere they want. The queue management software is capable of automatically routing the customers to the relevant counter. Even if the service structure is very complex, the queue management system can accurately divert the customers to the required counter. In some businesses some counters are exclusive for some services, some offer a certain set of services only and so on, and this make queuing more complex.However, with a queue management system the customer flow is fully autonomous. The queue management system also help improving customer waiting experience and simplify customer journey. The queue management software can be integrated with other enterprise systems, databases and central information center which help adding innovative features to further enhance customer experience and efficiency. Here are some key benefits of a modern queue management software.

Benefits of Queue Management Software: Automates Queuing Process

One of the biggest benefit of a modern queue management software is that it has capabilities to fully or partially automate the entire queuing process. The customer sign-up for the queues is automated via a self-service interactive kiosk. The customer flow management is automated with the help of the AI (artificial intelligence) based algorithms. The queue management system can implement the entire queuing policy with more efficiency and efficacy. The queue management software can understand which all services are offered by the businesses, it can also learn which counters are exclusive for which services, this information help the algorithms to automatically divert customers to their relevant counter. On top of that there is no need for physical queues, all customers and visitors are signed-up for a virtual queue, which allow them to wait freely inside the premises. Even the queue management software can notify the customers via SMS and allow them more freedom to wait outside the premises as well if they want. The queue management system can also shift the customers form one queue to another based on the data it fetched in real-time from the system to achieve maximum efficiency. All this process is fully automatic and managed by the AI based in-built algorithms of the queue management software.

Benefits of Queue Management Software: Significantly Reduce the Wait Time

There many problems with the traditional, manual queuing process. The waiting lines are long, there are line jumpers, people always complaint and the staff found it very difficult to manage crowds. All these factors keep staff distracted from their primary tasks which further reduce the efficiency of the branch. However, with a digital queuing system the customer waiting time can be reduced. A modern queue management software is a very powerful tool, it is capable of monitoring the queues and customer flow in real-time and its AI based smart algorithms enable it to take autonomous decisions in real-time. The queue management software can monitor, control and improve each and every step of the entire customer journey from welcoming customers to taking them to the right counter and even requesting them for their feedback afterwards. The automation eliminate all human management related problems, the customers and visitors don’t complaint as they know everything is managed by automatic system and there is no favoritism, line jumping or any other influence of the staff on the customer flow. This also let employees and the service staff to focus on their primary tasks, which further improve customer flow and reduce the overall customer wait time.

Benefits of Queue Management Software: Improve Customer Experience

The reduction in wait time have very pleasant impact on customer experience. No one wants waiting, however, there will still remain some wait time which will vary on the bases of footfall at a certain hour in a day. A queue management software allow you to enhance customers experience during their journey at your business or branch. When a customer enters he/she is greeted by a self-service interactive kiosk machine, where they can acquire some information, provide some details and chose the service they need. Then the system issues them a ticket bearing their turn number in their respective waiting line. The queue management software comes with in-built digital signage tools, which enable businesses to play multimedia content on the large displays that are used to display queuing information. This media can keep customers engaged and reduce the stress of waiting. The queue management system can also estimate the wait time as soon as someone signs-up, based on the previous data and current customer flow rate. Knowing how much more you have to wait also help calming the stress of waiting.

The queue management software can also help employees in service delivery steps, which maximize their efficiency and reduce the time a customer will have to spend on a service counter. This also help improving customer experience. Since the customers don’t have to wait much thanks to the seamless customer flow, they reach to the counter in a much better state of mind. Which is very helpful for service agent to improve their interaction with the customers. The queue management software can also be integrated with other systems, which can be very helpful for the service agents in delivering a quicker and satisfactory customer experience. The queue management software can also utilize digital communication channels to alert and update the customers, which could be very helpful for the customers. Moreover there is always a multi-lingual audio announcement system, which keep announcing the next ticket number and its designated counter number/name. This also keep customers distracted and keep them busy, which reduces the sensation of waiting. There are several other features that can be utilized to maximize the customer engagements and reduce the stress of waiting. All these features help improving customer experience and ensures a higher level of customer satisfaction.

Benefits of Queue Management Software: Increase Customer Loyalty

The customer loyalty is one of the key factor which can ensure a long term sustainable growth of a business. The loyal customers tend to be a good brand advocate, they spread good words about the business which might also encourage others to make a purchase. The social media and digital channels have a great influence on the brand reputation and brand image, loyal customers tend to post good about the brand on their favorite channels with help improving online presence. Studies have shown that it is 5 to 25 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than selling to an existing customers. That is how the customer loyalty can impact a business. A queue management software help businesses improve the entire customer journey and every interaction. It can also collect data from each touch point which also help businesses to understand the customer journey and customer experience, on the bases of this understanding and the analytical data collected by the queue management software, the businesses can build more effective strategies and plans to ensure maximum customer satisfaction. Only happy and satisfied customers tend to be loyal, unhappy customers might never return.

Benefits of Queue Management Software: Improve Employee Efficiency

Managing customers, solving their problems, organizing physical queues, and avoiding crowed is a very time consuming task and requires a lot of efforts from the staff. This also keep distracting employees from their primary tasks and badly impact their efficiency and productivity. A queue management software not only lift a lot of workload from the employees but it is also capable of helping them with their routine tasks. The customer sign-up, virtual queues, automatic customer flow management, and a lot many more processes are managed by the queue management software automatically. When employees worked under balanced workload they tend to perform well. Furthermore the queue management system also provide in-depth employee performance data and KPIs. For example, the queue management software measures how much on an average an employee spend on one customer, how they performed while delivering different services, how many customers they served in a single shift, how much time they spend in pre and post service tasks, etc. All these details help managers develop effective training programs and let them make informed decisions for better resource management which can significantly improve employee efficiency.

Benefits of Queue Management Software: Collects Business Intelligence Data

The modern day business are heavily relying on information technology and data driven solutions. The data provides the information that are required to make better strategic decision that put a business on the success path. A queue management software is also a digital solution and it can offer a great wealth of the business intelligence data. The business intelligence data help businesses understand its customers, their persona, preferences, needs, expectations, and their voice too. The queue management software can capture analytical data form each touch point which help businesses to understand and evaluate the customer experience and customer journey. The queue management system’s analytical data also help businesses evaluate their internal processes, polices and strategies and help them highlight the areas of improvements. Moreover businesses can also collect direct customer feedback with the help of the queue management software. A modern queue management software comes with in-built customer feedback collection module. Usually businesses keep touch screens, tablets and interactive kiosks to collect the customer feedback data. Which further help them understand the needs and expectations of the customers. Hence businesses can utilize this data in their decision making processes to make more informed and effective decisions.

Conclusion

The queue management is a very crucial aspect of customer satisfaction and customer happiness. The customer satisfaction drives customer loyalty and the loyal customers provide a foundation at which a business can plan and achieve a sustainable growth and long term success. The queue management software is a very powerful tool with AI based smart algorithms that enables it to collect analytical and system usage data in real-time and make instant decisions to improve the customer experience. The queue management software track and monitor employee performance and KPIs, which also help businesses in resource management and planning. The queue management systems collect valuable business intelligence data which help businesses take informed decisions. The queue management software offer a central management system which enables the head office to monitor all connected branches in real-time and effectively implement their policies. RSI Concepts is a leading queue management system provider in Dubai, UAE if you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to implement a very cost-effective tailor-made queue management system, please 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.

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August 2, 2022

What can a Queue Management System do for you?

Every business’s primary goal is to expand and grow. However, the business growth is completely dependent on its customers. The customers are the soul of any business, which is why the customer happiness and customer satisfaction is extremely crucial for a business. The customer satisfaction drives customer loyalty which is essential for customer retention. If a business have good customer retention, they don’t have to invest a lot in acquiring new customers. Gradually the loyal customers and an active marketing strategy can build a very strong brand identity in the market. The customer retention also have a huge impact on profitability of a business. In general it is almost 5 to 25 times more expensive to acquire a new customer comparing to selling to an existing customer. Furthermore if a business or organization keep losing customers they will have to invest more in their marketing & communication which could increase the cost of acquiring a new customer by many times. The customer satisfaction plays a crucial part in long term success and growth of a business. When it comes to customer satisfaction a few industry sectors stand out more than others for the need of a queue management system.

Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the queue management systems are a common site at several businesses, especially at banks, government offices, telecom service centers, etc. are the places we all visit once in a while. However, the queue management systems are also very popular in healthcare sector, public sector, retail, airports, educational institutions and many more. Think of yourself visiting a business to get a service, the waiting area is full, there are several counters and several queues, you have no idea in which queue you should be, you feel the adjacent queues are moving faster than yours, you are not sure how much time it will going to take and you have to be somewhere, obviously you will get confused, frustrated and at some extent angry too. This is what you are risking of putting your customers through being a manager, decision make or owner of the business. Let us admit, we all don’t like waiting, especially under those circumstance. People tend to avoid going to businesses where they had bad experience in past or where they know they will get a bad experience. That is what exactly a queue management system is designed for. It is designed to avoid all those things.

Here is what a queue management system can do for your business and your customers:

Reduce customer wait time
Improve customer wait experience
Improve customer flow and customer journey
Raise service quality and improve business processes
Achieve customer satisfaction and gain customer loyalty
Improve staff performance and achieve staff satisfaction
Gather valuable business intelligence data
Reduce cost and increase profitability

Here in Dubai, UAE good queue management system brand such as RSI Concepts also offer customization services. A customized queue management system can further boosts its efficiency and offers more benefits comparing to off-the-shelf queuing solutions.

Queue Management System: Reduces Customer Wait Time

One of the biggest reason of customer dissatisfaction is the wait time. Studies have revealed that an average customer start getting stressed after just 8 to 12 minutes of wait time, the longer the wait time will be the more stressed customer will get. More than 70 of the customers leave without making a purchase due to long wait time at the counters. Obviously different industries have different market dynamics but one thing is sure the long wait time results in customer frustration and increase churn rate too. The queue management system effectively and autonomously manages the queuing process and the customer flow in the service area. It facilitates customers by offering them multiple sign-up channels, reduce the average service delivery time, and it improves employee efficiency. Collectively all these factors and several others directly or indirectly help reducing the customer wait time.

Since the queuing and the customer flow is managed by the smart queue management system software so the employee can focus on their primary tasks without any distraction, which improve service delivery time and quality also. Furthermore there is no dispute, confusion or complaint from the customers who are waiting in queues, as everything is managed by system. The queue management system can also collect and store statistical data and has ability to route customers smartly which also reduce customer wait time and improve customer journey. It can also segregate various different types of customers such as VIP, Premium, Customer with Needs, etc. which also help improving the queuing process and reduce the customer wait time.

Improve Customer Wait Experience

Another very useful feature of a queue management system is that it can help businesses improving the customer waiting experience. If customer waiting experience can be improved they feel less impact of the waiting. The queue management system have integrated digital signage screens which are usually used for displaying the real-time queuing information. The queue management system allow businesses to play multimedia content or any other engaging material which can distract customers from the waiting and help reducing the waiting impact. Furthermore the queue management system is based on a very intelligent software engine which is powered by smart algorithms and AI (Artificial Intelligence). The queue management software can also predict the estimated time for each customer, which can be printed on their ticket and it can also be displayed on the signage screen. The impact of waiting is significantly reduced when the customer know how long they will have to wait.

Furthermore the queue management system also have audio announcement system. The audio announcements keep the users engaged and distract them from the wait time, each time when a new announcement is made, most of the customers tend to look up at the signage to see which tickets are currently being served and how far they are. These all features keep them busy and engaged and reduce the effects of the waiting and boredom. Since the entire queuing process is managed by the queue management system, and the customer also know that everything is controlled by the computer, so they usually don’t complain much. In case of manual queue management most of the time customers get confused, they also complain about line jumpers, or sometimes customers might think the staff is favoring someone over them, and so on. However, with a queue management system these all problems are gone, and on top of that the customer flow is managed by intelligent algorithms which reduce latency factors and improve overall customer waiting experience.

Improve Customer Flow and Customer Journey

The customer journey and customer flow have a huge impact on the customer journey. A queue management system have in-built modules to implement customer flow policy and allow the management to automate the customer flow throughout the entire customer journey. Usually a business offers multiple services and also have multiple counters. Mostly a single service is delivered through a single counter, however, in some cases businesses might have stepped services which require a customer to reach to several counters or more than one counter to get a full service. In some cases businesses have exclusive counters for exclusive services or customers, which also has to manage separately. There could be so many different variations and factors that can impact the customer flow and customer journey as well. A queue management system can automatically manage all these scenarios.

It means the businesses just need to configure their policy once and the queue management system is capable of taking decision in real-time based of the pre-defined settings and on the real-time system usage and statistical data. Businesses can also create agent profiles with their abilities to deliver different services and the queue management system can utilize this information to route the customers to the least busy counters while reducing the work of the busy counters which results in overall improved efficiency and performance which help improving customer flow and customer journey.

Raise Service Quality and Improve Business Processes

The businesses can utilize several advanced features to expedite the service delivery processes and service quality. Such as a queue management system have an integrated interactive kiosk for ticket dispensing, which can be used to take customer information, which help the system to prepare the agent dashboard beforehand by fetching the required information instantly from connected systems and databases. The queue management system can prepare the service agent dashboard automatically and instantly, as soon as the agent calls for the next customer the queue management system automatically fetch the data and information for the next service delivery hence saving precious time and reducing the overall service delivery time.

A queue management system can be integrated with several input devices to improve customer experience. For example, rather asking customer to input their details via sign-up form, the interactive kiosk can offer them Emirates ID scanner which can pull customer’s information automatically from the customer database and authenticate it with their ID. There are so many features that a business can add to a queue management system which can improve the customer journey and customer flow. The queue management system can automate several service delivery steps and it significantly reduces agent’s work which means the agents have more time to focus on the customer and the important things. This way a queue management system can raise service quality and improve several internal business processes.

Achieve Customer Satisfaction and Gain Customer Loyalty

Customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is a key to long term success and sustainable growth. Businesses put a huge amount of resource and revenue just to increase their loyal customer base. The loyal customers are a valuable assets who not only help businesses expand but also help them to establish a good brand image. Loyal customers tend to be a good brand advocate, they suggest their favorite brand to others and doesn’t leave the businesses for small problems and they also have more tolerance towards the negative or bad experiences. It is far more expensive to acquire a new customer than selling to an existing one. Furthermore the customer retention have huge impact on business’s profitability. For example if a business keep losing 100 customers a month while its marketing and sales team tends to acquire 200 new leads per month, their overall profitability will be reduced.

In addition to that the customers who will leave might also share their negative opinions about the business which harms its reputation and brand image. A business with less customer turnover and customer churn rate can yield more profits from the same efforts they are doing. Customer retention help promoting good brand image which attracts more customers hence it help optimizing the marketing cost as well. A queue management system significantly enhances customer experience and ensures much higher customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction drives customer loyalty and have a very positive effect on profitability.

Improve Staff Performance and Achieve Staff Satisfaction

Since a queue management system provides a complete framework to manage the customer flow and customer journey in a fully or semi-autonomous way. It can take a huge amount of staff work and help balancing their work load. Employees who work under balanced workload tend to perform better and produce more quality work. Usually with manual queues, the staff is mostly engaged in managing queues and listening to the customers’ complaints and resolving their problems. This distract them from their primary tasks which not only have negative effect on their performance but also on the service quality. While a queue management system not only take all that burden but it also facilitates staff by managing several service delivery tasks. Furthermore the queue management system is a very capable tools of monitoring and measuring several staff KPIs. Which can be very helpful for the HR to improve the staff performance and efficiency.

A queue management system measures various KPIs and stats. For example, how many customers are being served by an individual agent or a team or a branch, etc. The queue management system can also monitor the staff activity, such as how much time they took for each service delivery, how much time they took to prepare for the next service and customer call and several other performance matrices. All this data is automatically analyzed by the in-built AI powered smart software engine and made available for the management and for the staff also. The management can easily identify the strengths and weaknesses of the staff and take steps to improve their performance. This also help HR to develop more effective employee development and training programs.

For example, if an employee is good at delivering 3 out of 5 services and for the 2 he/she take more time than the other agents, the business can help staff to improve their skills for these 2 services. There are so many features that can help employees, HR and management to evaluate employee performance and highlight their weak points which can be rectified to further improve their overall performance.

Gather Valuable Business Intelligence Data

A modern business heavily relies on the digital solutions and its IT infrastructure. In today’s world the success and growth is heavily relied upon the efficiency to effectively collect business intelligence data and leverage it to improve each and every business function and internal processes. A queue management system is a powerhouse of business intelligence data. It can collect data from each customer touchpoint. Which help businesses analyze the entire customer journey and let them track down the chock points in customer flow. The business intelligence data also help businesses to evaluate their strategies, policies, and internal business processes which can impact customer experience and customer satisfaction. The queue management system can accurately measure the time interval between every customer journey step and allow businesses to make improvements to improve customer experience.

A queue management system can accurately measure the time of the customer interaction for example how much time it take a customer from signing up till getting the service. How much time it took to deliver the service, and how much time an agent takes between completing a service, performing post-service tasks and calling for the next customer. The system can monitor staff activities as well along with their performance and several other details. It can also collect customer feedback which can be helpful for product development and it provides deeper understanding of the customer experience and their preference. The queue management system have in-built data analytical tools which can automatically generate pre-configured reports and send them to the relevant stakeholder. The managers can also perform several analysis, comparisons and set alerts if any threshold is crossed. All these features help businesses to take timely decisions and monitor everything in real-time which make them more prepared to handle unexpected scenarios without harming customer experience and customer satisfaction.

Reduce Cost and Increase Profitability

A queue management system can manage queues, sign-up processes, customer flow, customer routing and the entire customer journey. Which eliminate the need of a lot of additional staff. Acquiring a queue management system is much less expensive comparing to retaining more staff. The operational and maintenance cost of the queue management system is very low. The modern queue management systems are built on widely available technology platforms which not only reduce the initial cost but also reduce the maintenance and upgrade costs. The value a queue management system adds to the customer journey and customer experience is unmatchable to anything else. It provides better and deeper in-sight to the customer journey, customer experience, employee performance and enables businesses to learn about their customer’s preferences, market trends and help them developing customer friendly strategies and policies.

Customer satisfaction drives customer loyalty and help optimizing the cost of the marketing and acquiring new customers. A loyal clientele is a key to long term success. Selling to existing customers is far more profitable than acquiring new customers. The ability to integrate with other marketing channels and customization allow businesses to optimize the cost of their IT infrastructure. Businesses can offer much more features at a much less cost which make queue management system one of the most cost-efficient solution for the businesses. A typical lifecycle of a queue management system is 5 to 8 years, that means the business might not going to need a new solution for a long time which itself significantly increase the ROI (return over investments) of a queue management system. Furthermore the automation, employee performance improvements, and valuable business intelligence data indirectly help reducing the cost at several fronts. These all features and benefits of a queue management system help businesses generate more revenue, achieve higher productivity and performance and gain more profit.

Conclusion

A queue management system is a very useful tool to transform customer experience, customer journey and to improve several internal business processes. It help businesses closely monitor the customer behavior, the problem they face and also help them collect valuable business intelligence data. A queue management system help businesses achieve higher performance, leverage automation and increase their productivity and profitability. It help businesses gaining higher customer loyalty and let them improve their strategies and polices to make improvements. It help businesses increase staff performance while achieving higher staff satisfaction which directly impact on the service quality and service delivery processes. A business can link queue management system with several other internal and even external systems to boost the usability of the system and to bring innovative features to improve customer experience and customer journey.

RSI Concepts is a leading queue management system provider in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want us to help you with you queuing needs, please 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.

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July 16, 2022

The Concept of Queue Management and Crowd Control

Managing queues and crowd control is not only herding customers and visitors from the entrances and placing them in waiting lines, it is far complicated than that. The crowd and queue management is crucial to ensure a smooth customer flow which have huge impact on customer experience and customer journey. For businesses customer journey and satisfied customer experience is a key to success. However, there is no prefix or how-to-guide for effectively managing the queues and crowds. That is why we are writing this blog to provide our audience a better understanding of the matter. Various businesses need queue management and crowd control especially services based sectors and the event organizer companies require a proactive approach for queue management and crowd control. For every business the queue management and crowd management is slightly different however the basic principles are the same.

No matter what business sector you belongs to, the most important thing for any business to understand is that the slower customer flow and long waiting time just not only harm your service quality but it results in a huge loss in sales and revenue as well. In long term it have even more serious impact which is at the brand reputation and credibility. Once people start getting bad experience from a brand, they tend to talk about it, whether it is with coworkers or family or even social media platform, people tend to express their feelings and bad experiences which could be very dangerous for the brand reputation. A negative brand identity not only make new customer acquisition harder and expensive but it also repel your existing customers and reduce customer retention. That is why it is extremely important for businesses to manage their queues effectively and have a proper crowd management and prevention strategy in place to avoid such scenarios.

What is Queue Management and Crowd Control?

The queue management is managing the customer flow to ensure a smooth customer journey. The queue management helps improving the customer waiting experience by effectively optimizing the customer flow throughout the customer journey. The old manually managed waiting line methods are obsolete and replaced with more sophisticated digital queue management systems. A queue management system consists of different software and hardware components that help businesses effectively managing the customer flow and enable them to improve the customer experience and customer journey. The term crowd control is self-explanatory, it means management of the crowd at any waiting area or venue where the business needs to serve its customers in any way. If the queues are not managed properly the crowd formation is inevitable. When the queue management and customer flow is well-managed the chances of crowd formation are slim to none, however, in some cases due to some unexpected events or disruptions a businesses could still face situations where crowd is formed. In such scenarios a business must have a crowd control policy as well. Which can also be implemented by the digital queue management system now a days.

What is Queuing Theory?

The queuing theory is basically a mathematical presentation of how the queues and waiting lines are formed and how they naturally function and why and how they malfunction. As the queuing theory is a mathematical understanding of the queues, it measures and analyze all elements of the queue management and customer flow. Basically the theory was first developed for the purpose of learning about the computer systems and the data communication between those systems. However, later the theory was also applied to the actual customer queues instead of data packet. The queuing theory has a lot many other real-life applications. For the queue management systems and crowd control the queuing theory majorly measures and analyze the customer flow, waiting lines or queues, the method or mode of arrivals, the types and number of services, the service processes, number of counters/servers, and the number of customers. The primary objective of queuing theory is to understand and determine the causes of congestions, delays and the crowd formation at the waiting areas. Businesses implement queuing theory to achieve a balance between the queue management efficiency and cost.

What is Queue Management System?

A queue management system is a tool consists ofseveral software and hardware components which are used to improve customer flow, customer waiting experience and customer journey by optimizing efficiency and introducing automation to various internal business processes. The queue management system improve customer experience by managing customer journey and improving the operational performance. This is achieved with the help of various tools which automate various touch points and reduce human efforts to maximize the efficiency of the system and the staff which results in quicker and better service delivery. A queue management system is a very effective tool for crowd prevention and management as well. Basically the prime objective is to keep your customers happy, and a queue management system is a perfect solution to improve customer experience at all steps of customer journey. Another great ability of a digital queue management system is that it can collect valuable business intelligence data which help businesses in making informed decisions and do improvements in their current strategy and policy to further improve customer happiness and customer retention.

What are Different Types of a Queue Management System?

That is the most obvious question a business faces when they decide to acquire a queue management system. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE there are so many different service providers and vendors who are advertising a lot many different queue management systems and solutions. Which could get confusing for a lot of the businesses. You might find a variety of different types of queue management systems in the market such as:

Queue Management System for Banks
Bank Branch Transformation Tools
Queue Management System for Hospitals, Pharmacies and Healthcare
Queue Management System for Restaurants
Queue Management System for Government Offices
Queue Management System for Students/Collage/University
HR Queue Management System
Virtual Queue Management System
Retail Queue Management System

And a bunch of more. That is why it become a very challenging tasks to decide which queue management system will be suitable for you. Regardless of industry or application, all queue management systems work on same basic principles. That is why you shouldn’t have to worry about different types. If you need a queue management system for your business the best solution is to acquire a customized solution from a well-reputed queue management system provider in Dubai, UAE such as RSI Concepts. The tailor-made queuing solution tends to perform many time better than ready-made/off-the-shelf solutions.

A queue management system majorly consists of two distinct types of components one is software and the second is hardware. The queue management system software have further more components or modules and similarly the hardware also have more modules. All different types of the queue management systems can be classified on the bases of components they are using or their application for a specific industry. However, the best is to utilize as many components as you can to facilitate each and every step of the customer journey. Here are some examples of different modules of queue management systems:

Queue Management System Software

Basic QMS Software Modules

Server Software Application
Back-office or Administrative Control Panel
Agent Dashboard
Customer UI (For signup or ticket dispensing kiosk)
Reporting Module

Advanced QMS Software Modules

Virtual Queuing
Online Appointment Booking Module
Queue Management System Smartphone Application
Integrated Notification and Alerts Module
Separate Head Office and Branch Manager Dashboards
WhatsApp Enabled Queuing
QR Code based Queuing
Customer Feedback and Survey Collection Module
Performance Monitoring and KPIs
Business Intelligence Collection Module
Comprehensive Reporting and In-built Analytical Tools
Report and Alerts Automation Module
Mobile Sign-up Function
Third-party System Integration

Queue Management System Hardware

Basic QMS Hardware Modules

Interactive Self-Service Ticket Dispensing Kiosk
Digital Signage Displays
Counter Displays
Smart Media Players & Drivers
Audio Announcement System
Customer Calling Unit (These days agent dashboard is used more often for this function)

Advanced QMS Hardware Modules

Emirates ID (EID) Reader
Passport Scanner
Boarding Pass Scanner
Barcode/QR Code Scanner
RFID Reader
Biometrics Scanner
Document Scanner
Payment Gateway and POS Integration
Cash Deposit and Coin Acceptors
Customer Feedback Touch Screens/Tablets Integration
IP Camera and Intercom Integration

These all are most widely used components and modules. Obviously everyone doesn’t require all of them but businesses should offer as many features as necessary to make process simpler and convenient for the customers. These components also help optimizing various customer journey steps and reduce the overall service delivery time. Which not only help improving customer experience but also reduce the workload of the staff and service agents and results in a significant improvement in employee performance.

How Queue Management System Helps in Crowd Control and Crowd Prevention?

A queue management system enables businesses to automate queuing process and various other business processes. This expedite the customer flow and reduce customer wait time. The sign-up for the queue is completely automatic either by the interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosk or by several other regular and remote channels. Furthermore there is no problem that staff usually faced with manual queuing, which reduce the workload of the staff as well. The queue management system is capable of automatic customer flow management as well. Usually at any service center or business there are several counters, some could be exclusive for some services, some could be for VIP or Premium customers, and some could be for other priority needs and so on. A queue management system can automatically understand all these different customer routes on the bases of customer needs and customer priorities. Hence the customer flow is fully automatic.

This not only eliminates confusion but it also frees the staff to focus more on their primary tasks.Which in result improves staff performance and further speed up the service delivery process. The queue management system helps reducing the average wait time and average service delivery time which means a single service agent can serve more customers in a shift. Hence the chances of crowd formation can be further reduced. With a good quality queue management system the chances of crowd formation are very less even then if any situation arises where a crowd is formed the queue management system can be very helpful in controlling the crowd and expediting the service delivery by automatically managing customer flow and customer routing. The queue management system also have ability to monitor the queuing process in real-time and it can also record analytical and monitoring data in its server which enables it to take decisions in real-time and increase its crowd management and control efficiency.

The smart algorithms of the queue management system can do heavy lifting in the crowd management. However, businesses can also install extra measures to get more control over customer flow during the crowded situation. For example, the stanchions, floor stickers, wall-mount and floor-standing signs, belt barriers, chain posts, rope barriers, etc. The queue management system can be used to automatically route customers through these paths and direct them to the right service counter without any delay. This helps management to reduce crowd quickly and provide them more control and visibility during such events.

Key Benefits of a Queue Management System

A queue management system is a great tool to improve customer experience and customer journey. These days in Dubai and all around the UAE the queue management system have become an essential for the service based industries. A queue management system not only help improving customer satisfaction but it is also very capable of monitoring each and every touch point throughout the customer journey along with ability to gather employee performance data and various KPIs. A good queuing system such as RSI Queue Management System offers in-built data collection and analysis tools. Which can provide you a great competitive edge. Businesses can also monitor the branch performance remotely from the head-office in real-time. A customized queue management system can be customized to meet the needs of the business and it can help them improving the entire customer journey and also the employee performance which assures higher productivity, performance and profitability.

Here are some key benefits of using a good quality queue management system:

Reduce Customer Wait Time
Improve Customer Waiting Experience
Automate Various Customer Journey Processes
Integrate Queue Management System with Third-Party Systems
The Real-time Data Synchronization and Integration Improve Management and Control
Collect valuable Business Intelligence Data
Monitor and Measure Employee Performance with High Accuracy
Automatically Feed Statistical and Analytical Data to Relevant Departments/Personals
Comprehensive Reporting Module
Simpler Third-party System Integration
Easy to Commission, Low Operational and Maintenance Cost
Long Lifecycle with Ability to Scale and Evolve over the Time
Widely Available Hardware and Software Modules

These are some of the key benefits of a queue management system. A business can leverage queue management system to improve its various internal processes. The business intelligence data and ability to collect customer feedback further provide a highly accurate and valuable insight to the customers’ mindset and help businesses understand them more effectively. Which help businesses to keep improving their internal processes to enhance customer experience which help businesses in gaining customer trust and loyalty.

Conclusion

For any business in Dubai or anywhere else in UAE the queue management system has become an essential. The UAE is a very rapidly growing economy, the markets are very vibrant, the competition is high and the customers are savvy. In such scenarios the customer satisfaction has become fairly difficult. However, businesses should realize that these days’ the customers not only evaluate a brand on the bases of their products/services but they weight experience almost equal to the quality of the products and services. That is why the queue management is used to improve customers’ experience and customer journey. The biggest challenge for any business is to reduce the customer wait time and quickly deliver the service. That is why it is crucial for businesses to have adequate understanding of the concept of queue management and crowd control. The purpose of this blog was to provide our audience and customers a brief overview of the subject. If you want to learn more or if you want us to help you with your queuing needs, please 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: Queue Management System for Banks in 2022

July 13, 2022

Queue Management System for Banks in 2022

Managing guests and customers at a bank branch is always challenging. Apart from other service sectors the banks have certain challenges that other businesses might not have. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE there are several banks which offer great value products for businesses and individuals. However, when it comes to services, every bank is different. That is why the customer values experience the most. The customers love to be treated like a VIP. Although offering VIP protocol to each customers is neither practical nor necessary. But a good branch experience could be a turning point for the customers. The way they got treated and the experience they had at a bank branch can influence their decision very heavily. If a customer had a bad experience then they will immediately switch to a competitor. These days it is lot easier, in fact almost every other bank is offering registration via online or from the mobile apps and then their representative will meet you at your office or home to do the formalities. That is why customer retention has become a huge challenge for customer experience management team. And dealing with long waiting lines, unhappy customers and crowded waiting areas could be a nightmare for the branch management.

A queue management system is a key to digital branch transformation. The customer’s experience in the branch will impact on their relationship with the bank. The customer retention for financial institutions is a very sophisticated work. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the market trends are slightly different from the rest of the world. The UAE as a country is a leading economy in the Middle East with a very attractive market, favorable government policies and great infrastructure for the businesses. This resulted in a huge growth in the banking sector as well. The customers here are from all around the world. The overall community is very well educated and the market is extremely competitive which leads to even higher expectations from the banks. A queue management system provides excellent customer experience and more control and visibility of the customer flow process and customer journey.A queuing system can provide a greater competitive advantage and let your bank stand out of the crowed. A bank needs a flawless customer journey, smooth customer flow, great customer experience and very comprehensive intelligence data in order to monitor and keep improving everything. Here is how a queue management system can solve all those problems:

Queue Management System Reduce Wait Time at Banks

Let us admit, no one likes to wait in the long queues or congested waiting areas. People just don’t like waiting. As much as their waiting time increases their stress level also increases. Which leads to further inconvenience for both the customer and the staff as well. Think a customer had to wait for almost 45 minutes to reach to a service counter, where a service agent had already dealt with 2 out of 5 angry customers who were also annoyed by the long waiting time, what will happen next? It is no brainer that the chances of a satisfactory experience for this customer with this server are slim to none. No matter how hard you trained your staff or how experienced they are, one can only suppress a limited emotional pressure and stress, eventually it will start reflecting on their behavior. The waiting time for banks or any other business is way too damaging than usually businesses anticipate. That is why the waiting time is considered to be the most important aspect of any customer journey. A queue management system is a great tool to reduce waiting time from somewhere 30% to even 80% in some cases.

A queue management system digitalize many steps of customer journey. It streamline customer flow with in-built features that enable banks to automate various processes and utilize resources more efficiently. This alone can reduce the burden of your staff by up to 60%. Imagine you have manual queues where people are waiting in lines, the least your staff would want to deal would be the line jumpers and disputes among the customers. In order to improve customer flow the bank will have to deploy more resources, which is also expensive. Even then if more staff members are deployed in the waiting areas, the service agents will still have to deal with a lot of irrelevant stuff. For example, there are several counters, some are dedicated for certain services, in manual queuing the chances are a few customers will always end up in wrong queues. Which will result in delay, and the agent will have to do extra efforts to adjust them in the right queue. There are tons of other things that both the customers and the staff will have to deal with if there is no proper queue management system in place.

A queue management system automates the ticket issuing process. Usually it comes with an interactive kiosk machine which dispense the tickets. The customers and visitors can be asked to choose which service they are intended to use. This prevent any confusion among the customers and also save prevent a lot of unexpected delays in customer flow. Furthermore it frees the service agent from additional work and let them focus on the service delivery instead. Which improves their efficiency and productivity and results in quicker service delivery. The quicker service delivery means less waiting time for each customer. As the queue management system is a digital system so every customer will know that their ticket numbers, the customer flow and everything is controlled by the computer, hence no one will have any complaint and no one will cause any interruption. Which significantly reduce waiting time as well. If a single customer had a complaint, it will take more time at the counter while debating with the server, hence the waiting time will add up to all of the remaining customers. A queue management system prevent all such problems and reduce the customer wait time.

Queue Management System Automates Customer Journey

For a service based business such as banks it is crucial to manage the customer flow and customer journey in a well-organized manner. There are several services that a bank can offers, some of them are pretty straight forward and some are not. There are two major classifications of the services, some services can be delivered through a single counter, and some require the customers to go to more than one counters. Such scenarios can add up to the complexity of the customer journey and it can also result in disturbances and mismanagement in the customer flow. A queue management system is a digital tool powered by a very intelligent and capable software. The queue management system comes with several customer flow management tools such as AI powered smart software engine, signs and stanchions, line dividers and barriers, floor stickers, physical signs, digital signs and much more. Which not only automates customer flow but also effectively manages customer journey without any intervention of the staff. In case of stepped services the queue management system can automatically direct customers to the right counter.

In the banking sector the customers are of different value, priority and importance. Some customers are more important and are entitled to special treatment and exclusive customer journey. A queue management system can effectively manages all those customer segments with different priority levels with 100% accuracy. Furthermore there are usually exclusive counters for such customers which are used to improve the customer journey of the priority customers without disturbing the regular customers. A queue management system can also handle all these needs with 100% accuracy. A modern queue management system is powered by AI and advance smart technologies which enables it to automatically analyze the historic and current data and on the bases of these analysis the queue management system can make decisions in real-time which further help improving the customer journey and customer experience. All this is done by the smart algorithms of the queue management system and doesn’t require any human assistance. Although the management can program a variety of flows in the back-office or administrative control panel of the queue management system software.

Queue Management System Enhances Customer Experience

Reducing customer wait time and automating customer journey in itself is a significant improvement in customer experience. However, a queue management system is capable of much more. A standard modern queue management system can offer a variety of engagement features to the bank customers which keep their interest and reduce their boredom of waiting. The most important is the usage of digital signage. A queue management system includes digital signage which run entertaining content, marketing materials or any other eye-catchy multimedia content which keeps customer busy during their waiting time and it reduces their stress as well. Furthermore these days in Dubai, UAE the audio announcements are also considered to be an industry standard now. The audio announcements comes with a very attractive tone or small ring which immediately capture customers’ attention. It announces the next ticket number and the designated counter number, which keep customer distracted from the waiting and improve their waiting experience.

One of the most important feature of a queue management system is that it intensively gather business intelligence data and it can also perform analysis on the data in real-time. Usually these analysis are done on a server which makes the system super-efficient and eliminate any latency. On the bases of these analysis the queue management system can predict the estimated time of turn for any customer. Usually that time is printed on their ticket and it can also be displayed on the digital signage screen. The estimated time to turn might looks like a small feature but it has a huge psychological effect on the customer. The studies have revealed that our brain is programmed to fear the unknown. That is something which is embedded in our DNA. You must be thinking what does a harmless queue management system has to do with the fear of unknown. Well, it is the human psychology. No matter if it is dangerous or not if something is unknown to us it will make us uncomfortable. In case of waiting time, when the time is not known, one can only speculate, which add more to their stress and discomfort. That is why it is very important to provide estimated time to turn and it can significantly improve customer experience.

Virtual Queuing Offers Ultimate Customer Satisfaction

The primary goal of improving customer experience is to achieve the maximum customer satisfaction. A happy and satisfied customer is most likely to spread good words about the bank and it could also attract more customers. Furthermore the loyal customers are tend to tolerate several bad experiences before they decided to switch to a competitor. The loyal customers are a great asset for a bank and they can generate a huge revenue as well. That is why it is crucial to keep your customer happy and satisfied. One of the most modern form of queuing is the virtual queuing. The virtual queue management system integrate modern technologies to further enhance the customer experience. The main aim here is to reduce the wait time and customer journey. The virtual queuing uses a variety of mobile mediums to allow the customers and visitors to sign-up remotely for virtual queues. That mean the customer can sign-up for a queue without even physically arriving at the bank.

The queue management system offers WhatsApp, QR code, websites, mobile applications, customer portals and a variety of other digital channels which enable a customer to sign-up without even physically arriving at the bank branch. Hence they have freedom to arrive only when their turn will come. This literally eliminates the wait time completely. There is no customer wait time at all. The virtual queuing also provide more flexibility and control to the service agents by enabling multiple communication channels between them and the customers. For example, the WhatsApp can be used for communication where the customers can also respond or ask questions to the assigned service agent. Similarly the agents can send SMS to notify the customers about any change and the virtual queue management system can also send alerts via SMS, Email, Online Customer Portal, Mobile App – Push Notifications, etc. The virtual queuing can offer a great value to customer experience.

Queue Management System Integration with Third-Party Systems

A queue management system can offer a variety of innovative features if it can be integrated with other existing software and systems. Usually banks have a centralized information center. The queue management system can be linked with customer database, customer relationship management tools, centralized information center, sales data, performance management system, etc. The third-party integration is not only limited to the software, in fact a modern queue management system includes an interactive self-service kiosk machine. Banks can have additional peripherals and hardware devices linked to this kiosk to further improve the customer experience and customer journey. For example, banks can link Emirates ID card reader, or a document scanner for self-service registration process or it can linked a fingerprint scanner, etc. The customer identification can help improving the service quality and it can also push customer data and required service at the agent’s computer beforehand which can significantly reduce the customer wait time. The queue management system supports all API based integrations and automatic data synchronization.

Queue Management System Mobile Apps & Appoint Booking Modules

The same way a queue management system can be integrated with other software and hardware tools, it can also be integrated with a mobile app and online appointment booing module. The mobile app allow users to perform all basic queue management system related tasks as well as some additional features which make customer experience more convenient and satisfactory. For example the most widely used queue management system mobile app feature is its bank branch finder. The bank branch finder in a feature that is integrated with maps and queue management system of the bank and when a user searches for a nearest branch, it can show them all branches that are located in the searched area. That is not all, the queue management system mobile app can also display the queuing data in real-time from each branch with estimated time to turn at each nearby branch. This help the customer decide where they should go. Furthermore the appointment booking module can be integrated in the customer portal as well as the smartphone application. The appointment booking module also provide additional details about the expected traffic at the selected time and day based on the historic data and analysis.

Queue Management System can Collect Customer Feedback Data

The customer feedback data collection is very important for customer experience management. Banks have multiple channels to collect customer feedback, these days mostly the digital channels are used as the traditional and manual feedback collection is difficult, require a lot of resources, the data collection and processing is difficult and the response rate is also low. However, the queue management system can not only collect customer feedback but it can deliver both high quality and quantity data as well. Furthermore the queue management system also facilitate the customer feedback campaigns by making them super-easy for the customers. Hence huge data can be accumulated easily. Usually banks use small touch screens, tablets or iPads to collect customer feedback data from inside the branch. Majorly this feedback is related to their experience, overall journey, the service agent, or the product they are using. The queue management system have ability to link customer profile with their feedback without asking them to enter their name, phone number, email or any other detail. For the customers, it is just one or two taps on the touch screen and their feedback is submitted. That is why the queue management system is a great tool to collect customer feedback data from customers and visitors.

Queue Management System Collects Valuable Business Intelligence and Performance Data

Modern day businesses are heavily relying on the IT (information technology). Banks and every other business collects a huge amount of data, which is processed, analyzed and then utilized in their decision making and strategy building process. This data is called business intelligence data. A queue management system can capture data from all touch points at the entire customer journey. For example, the number of customers signed-up for the queue, what services got most requests, what was the customer churn rate, individual and average wait time, individual and average service delivery time, the service agent performance and much more. The beauty of a digital solution is that such type of data collection is a very simple tasks, however, the data processing and analysis could be trickier. A queue management system collects a huge amount of data on daily bases, it automatically stores it in relevant segments or data repositories and made it available for the bank management. The queue management systems are built on a very smart and intelligent software engine which has capabilities to automatically analyze the data, derive results and then take decisions in the real time to impact the queuing process.

Furthermore all that data that is collected directly from the queue management system and all other data that is collected by other systems is combined and made available for the management. This data can be accessed in the system, various types of analysis can be performed within just a few clicks, and reports can be generated. There is no chance of mistake or error in automatic data collection and processing. The queue management system can monitor and measure the employee performance with great precision. How much time a service agent spent on the counter, their complete activity record, how many customers they served with each individual service time and average performance of the day. The queue management system’ performance data can also provide information about employee performance such as which employee is good at what service? Which services take more time for them and so on. All this data can be channeled to the HR for the HR purposes as well and it can be used to initiate training and employee development programs as well.

Banks can also configure the queue management system so it automatically direct the customers to the counters where the chances are they will get quicker service delivery. The business intelligence data and the performance data a queue management system collects can be automatically channeled to the relevant departments for their perusal. Management can incorporate the queue management system data in their policy making and strategy building process to efficiently utilize resources and to ensure the maximum outcome can be obtained with the limited resources. Furthermore this data can be used to highlight the areas of improvement which can be addressed to boot the customer experience.

Conclusion

A queue management system is not just a customer flow management tool for the banks, in fact it is a full-fledged bank branch transformation tool. It has ability to digitalize and automate several internal processes which not only help reducing the resources but at the same time these features can enhance the customer experience and customer journey. The queue management system can significantly reduce the customer wait time, improve churn rate, reduce employee workload, it keeps the customers engaged and happy throughout their entire journey. The queue management system can be easily integrated with other enterprise tools and bank’s internal systems to further introduce innovative features.

A queue management system is a great source of valuable business intelligence and performance data. The data quality and accuracy is exceptional. The queue management system can also be customized to match the bank’s needs and offer them a tailor-made solution which aligns completely with their internal business processes and help them improve the overall productivity, profitability and growth. RSI Concepts is a leading queue management system brand in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want us to help you with a completely customized or ready-made queue management system for your business please 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: 5 Advantages of Custom Software Development

May 18, 2022

Why Queue Management Systems Are Essential For Modern Businesses?

Businesses want to improve productivity, turnover, and employee performance and cost efficiency all while improving the customer happiness and customer satisfaction. Customers never like to wait in long queues, they want instant services. However, the queues are inevitable in reality. This means the businesses and organizations will have to deal with queues. Here in Dubai, and in fact all around the UAE the market is very competitive and the customers simply have too many choices. One bad experience is enough to make your customer switch to a competitor. Another important factor is that the UAE is one of the most modern and advanced society, people living here are mostly highly educated and the market norms and standards are very high. That is why it is crucial for a businesses to sustain its customers by any mean. The market trends, customer’s preferences and competitors are all important factors to consider for a long term strategy. Now a days, a regular or ordinary customer place their experience equal to the quality of the product or service they are obtaining. That is why the customer experience had become an absolutely necessary aspect of customer satisfaction strategy.

The customer satisfaction is mainly based on customer experience, whether it is with your product or services, staff, customer support team, sales team, or even through digital channels. That is why it is important to improve customer experience at all the touch points. In our today’s topic we will cover only the customer experience at the business premises or at the branch. The customer experience includes each and everything from signing up for the queue to getting the service or making the purchase and even afterwards. The waiting time, long and poorly managed queues are major causes of customer dissatisfaction. Studies have shown that in general a customer can wait for 8 to 12 minutes comfortably, after that the customer starts getting annoyed, anxious and stressed. This wait time is even lesser for certain businesses. That mean either the business will have to find a way to serve the customer before that safe waiting time limits or the business will have to find a way to increase that limit.

A queue management system is the best solution to that problem, it can not only help businesses to reduce the wait time but it also help businesses to increase that limit by engaging customers and improving their waiting experience during the customer journey.Here is how a businesses can utilize a queue management system to increase customer tolerance to the wait time while reducing it simultaneously.

What is Queue Management?

Most of the time people line up to avail a service at a business. This happens when the counters or servers are less and the customers are more. That is the case almost all of the time at many businesses. Such queues are mostly unstructured and not properly managed. Which results in several problems that both the customers and the staff also faces. The queue management is the process or technique to manage those queues with more efficiency, efficacy and flexibility which facilitates both the customer and the staff of the business. Basically the queue management’s primary aim is to enhance customer experience, reduce their stress and improve the customer journey. In parallel to that the queue management also improve staff performance and productivity. This altogether improve the overall profitability of the business by making customer satisfied and loyal. Happy customers also help improving brand reputation and credibility.

What is a Queue Management System?

A queue management system or QMS is a tool that is used to effectively and efficiently manage the customer queues. The queue management system is used to manage the waiting time, customer flow and customer experience. It also collect valuable business intelligence data for the businesses which help them improve the customer experience and customer journey. The queue management system also provide advanced monitoring and management features which can be applied at multi-branch setup and help the main branch or head-office to gain a better control and monitoring over all connected branches. A queue management system is a mixture of software and hardware. The software is usually an application with multiple interfaces for different group of users. The hardware usually consists of an interactive kiosk or a ticket dispensing machine, which dispense the queue numbers for the customers. There is a digital display which is used to provide queuing information and update in the waiting area.

Almost all modern day queue management systems use audio announcement system which announces the next ticket number and the counter where their turn came. Along with that it also depends on the needs and requirements of the business. Some businesses also include a lot of other software and hardware features. The queue management systems can easily integrated with the central information center of the business as well as with other enterprise solutions and business tools. This capability significantly increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the system and also allow the businesses to introduce innovative features and customization which can help them further improve customer experience and various internal business processes that can impact customer experience.

The queue management systems are built on a very widely available hardware technology which makes them compatible with millions of hardware peripherals and interactive devices. Businesses can use a variety of hardware devices to introduce new features which please their customers and simplify their journey. Here in Dubai and all across the UAE mostly the simpler versions are used and major focus is at the software side, however, the interactive ticket dispensing kiosk can have a variety of hardware devices such as Emirates ID Reader, Barcode & QR Code Reader, Smart Card Reader, Document Scanner & Printer, Payment Gateway integration and POS, Biometric, Facial and Retina Scanners, Passport Scanners, and many more. These all hardware accessories are used to introduce new features to queue management system and help businesses in further simplifying the customer journey and improving the customer experience and customer happiness.

What Makes Queue Management System (QMS) Essential for Modern Businesses?

Managing queues and customer experience is a very sophisticated task, it requires a lot of resources and planning. The manual work requires a lot of human resource, planning and still it is not as that effective. Improving customer waiting experience, customer journey and customer satisfaction need a lot of information and data analysis. Manually it is nearly impossible to gather all that data and do that kind of analysis with accuracy. Whenever there will be manual data collection, human will involve and common errors and mistakes will be inevitable. That is why a queue management system is essential not only to effectively manage the queuing process but it is also absolutely necessary for monitoring and collecting data which can later help in improving strategies, business processes and customer experience.

Here are a few reasons which makes a queue management system an essential for modern businesses:

Reduce Customer Wait Time

One of the most impactful factor on customer happiness and satisfaction is the wait time. No one wants to wait, everyone wants to get served as quickly as possible. A queue management system streamline customer flow, segment customers into different groups/categories as per their needs, direct them to the right counter and completely automate the customer flow process. As soon as a customer get served on a counter, the next one is automatically called via audio & visual announcements. And that is not all, an efficient queue management system can also be helpful in various other steps of the customer journey. For example via agent portal or agent interface a queue management system can help reducing the agent’s efforts, which keep them more focused on their primary tasks. Hence they can deliver even better customer services which makes your customer happy and satisfy.

The automatically managed waiting lines, doesn’t cause much complaints as everyone knows the queue is controlled by the computer so everyone knows everyone will be treated equally, no one can line jump, and no agent or staff can favor anyone, etc. Such complaints are common in manual queues, even though the businesses put a lot of efforts to reduce them, people would still have such complaints in case of manual queues. That is why the digital queue management eliminates a lot of problems, makes customer happy and also enable staff to serve more customers in a single shift. Which in result also reduce the average customer waiting time.

Reduce Perceived Wait Time and Improve Waiting Experience

The perceived wait time is always higher than the actual wait time. Have you ever noticed, during the rush at the high way or at a grocery store the waiting line next to you felt faster than that of yours. However, when you switch it the reverse happens! It is just a perception of human brain. Sometimes we think the time is moving slower than it actually is. This is mostly due to boredom, waiting or lack of interest. The same happens at your business too. Your customers might think the time passed is more than the actual time passed. Another factor that contributes to increase perceived wait time is the absence of any other engagement, or one could say distraction. A queue management system provides the both, it actually reduces the actual wait time and it also help reducing the perceived wait time. A standard queue management system uses large display screen, these screens are used to display the queuing information. Businesses can use those screens and enable audio and visual announcements which can easily distract the customer from focusing on being waiting in a long queue.

Businesses can also use another trick which is mentioning the estimated time to turn at the ticket. With the help of a queue management system this can be done easily. These features and a lot many other such features help businesses in reducing both actual and perceived wait time. When the actual and perceived wait time is reduced and during that wait time the customer is engaged with regular audio announcements, large bright display screens in front of them and with the estimated time to their turn, they feel more comfortable and in fact they can tolerate more wait time comparing to the situation without all those features.

Virtual Queuing Literally Reduces the Wait Time to None

The virtual queuing is not a new technology, in fact it is present since a long time, but since past two to three years the virtual queuing caught the attentions of the businesses in Dubai and everywhere in UAE. Businesses are adopting to virtual queuing on a rapid pace. The virtual queuing has ability to literally reduce the wait time to none. It done so by introducing advanced features such as remote sign-up channels, virtual queues, mobile or remote communication and such features. The customers are free to sign-up for the queue using a QR Code, an online link, SMS, email or even the business website and some advanced queue management systems also offer appointment booking modules as well. Such module ad features enable customers to sign-up for the queues without being physically present at the premises.

This means they are enrolled in the waiting line virtual without being physically present, hence they can easily plan their visit to arrive at the business only when their turn comes. Hence there will be literally no waiting time at the business. The virtual queuing also allow businesses to communicate with the customers using SMS, online links, mobile apps and other digital channels which enhance customer experience and increase their satisfaction.

Automatic Customer Flow Management Improves Customer Experience

A queue management system has a very intelligent software engine, which can be programmed as per the needs and situation. The businesses can use these features to setup a customer flow plan. Each business offers multiple services and each business deals with different categories of the customers who are attributed with different levels of priorities. For example, for certain services a business could have exclusive counters. For certain customers a business could have exclusive counters, such as for premium or VIP customers a business have policy to prioritize them at highest then there could be a dedicated counter for people with special needs and so on. All these variables can be programmed in the queue management system and it can automatically control the customer flow and customer journey for each customer category by automatically segregating them as per their priority or any other attribute.

Furthermore businesses also have different types of services, such as some businesses offers some services which can be delivered through a single counter, some services are meant to be delivered by multiple counters, such services are called stepped services. A queue management system can efficiently manage each type of customer flow as per the programming or setting at the admin panel. Hence the businesses doesn’t have to appoint additional human resource to guide and help customers, in fact the queue management system can do the job. This not only make the customer journey hustle free but it also save a lot of resources to the business.

Reduce Employee Work Load and Improve Employee Performance

With the manual queuing the employees are always engaged and distracted with so many other things. They could easily deviate from their primary tasks, which cause delays and poor performance. The employee feel under pressure, they feel more workload and their performance decreases. With the queue management system in place, the employees don’t have to worry about managing the queues, or solving disputes between the customers or listening to their complaints, in fact they can completely focus on their primary tasks. This also reduce the workload of the employees they feel working under a balanced workload and the feel much lighter and comfortable which not only boost their performance but also increase their work quality which eventually results in happy and satisfied customers. Moreover the queue management system can also be integrated with other systems and central information center of the business which enables them to further assist the agents and server in task closing and preparation of the next gig. Which also reduce their workload and improve their performance and quality of work.

Collect Valuable Business Intelligence Data (Stats, KPIs, Feedback, etc.)

A queue management system is a digital system and is capable of capturing statistical and system usage data from each and every touch point of customer journey. Which allow the businesses to get a deeper insight to the customer experience and customer journey. It also provides them a window into customer’s mind, and help the management in understanding customer’s liking, disliking, there preferences and much more. The management can also utilize the business intelligence data form the queue management system to understand the market trends and also for product development. The queue management system not only collect stats and system usage data but it is very capable of collecting various KPIs, such as employee KPIs and other important matrices. The queue management system can accurately track and monitor employee performance. The business management can assess employee’s performance and they can learn about their strengths and weaknesses, their performance and they can even set notifications and alerts in case of poor performance. Which are very helpful in taking timely actions and improving employee performance.

The queue management system can also collect customer feedback and make the feedback process very simple and easier for the customers. Which results in increased turnover and high quality customer feedback data. With the ability to integrate it with other systems, tools and database the businesses can develop features to even manage the feedback by performing analysis and generating report and they can also use the queue management system to close the customer feedback loop, which not only eliminate the need of a separate customer feedback management system but also makes the process a lot easier and more convenient for the management and the relevant staff.

Queue Management System Increases Productivity and Profitability

A queue management system is not just a queuing system but it is a full-fledged branch transformation tool. It can help businesses at many fronts. It help them automate several business processes, boost employee performance and their quality of work. And a queue management system can collect and gather valuable business intelligence data which can be used by the businesses to track and monitor performance of various functions and employees and also help them make informed decisions. The Queue Management System is absolutely necessary tool for the modern businesses. It boost their productivity and capabilities to perform well. The automation and digitalization reduce the human resource and also eliminate the need of acquiring various other separate tools and systems which in itself is very cost-effective and reduce help businesses in managing the expenses.

Moreover the customer happiness and customer satisfaction help businesses retain the customers, and improve their brand image. A good brand image attracts more customers and also reduce the marketing and branding expense. All those direct and indirect impacts of a queue management system are very cost-efficient. A queue management system boost a business’s performance, productivity and profitability and ensures a long term growth.

Conclusion

Every business wants its customer to be happy, satisfied and loyal to them. Businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE invest millions in systems and solutions to achieve this goal. However, keeping the cost low, obtaining maximum efficiency and productivity and at the same time ensuring your customers are happy and satisfied. But how a business can achieve this? This is a very difficult question but it has a very simple answer which is a Queue Management System. A queue management system not only manages customer flow and reduce customer wait time but it does a lot more than that. It help businesses understand the customer behavior, customer journey and the customer experience. A queue management system significantly reduce the customer wait time, it improves their waiting experience and at the same time it boost employee performance and increase overall productivity of the business. A queue management system in the long term is a great solution to achieve highest performance, unmatched productivity and great ROI by significant improvement in profitability and cost reduction.

RSI Concepts is a leading brand in queue management systems in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about eh subject or if you want our help to improve your customer experience and boost your performance, productivity andprofitability, feel free to let us know via our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

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Tag: What is a queuing system

Why a Virtual Queuing System Is Better Than Clipboard and Pen

What is Virtual Queuing?

Why a Virtual Queuing System is better than a Traditional Clipboard and Pen Method?

Common Problems with Traditional Clipboard and Pen Waiting Line Management

Advantages of a Virtual Queuing System

Advantages of Virtual Queuing System: Easy Remote Sign-up Features

Advantages of Virtual Queuing System: Significantly Low Wait Time

Advantages of Virtual Queuing System: Increase Customer Engagements

Advantages of Virtual Queuing System: Improved and Automated Customer Flow

Advantages of Virtual Queuing System: Improve Productivity and Employee Performance

Advantages of Virtual Queuing System: Collect Valuable Business Intelligence Data

Advantages of Virtual Queuing System: Effectively Collect High-Quality Customer Feedback Data

Conclusion

Key Tips to Improve Service Quality through Queue Management System

What is a Digital Queue Management System?

Key Advantages of a Queue Management System that Help Improving Service Quality

Reduced Wait Time

Improve Customer’s Waiting Experience

Improve Customer Flow

Offer Virtual Queuing

Reduce Employee Workload and Improve Efficiency

Collect Business Intelligence Data and Improve Decision Making Processes

Integration with Third Party Tools and Databases

Conclusion

Benefits of Using Modern Queue Management Software

What is a Modern Queue Management Software?

Benefits of Queue Management Software: Automates Queuing Process

Benefits of Queue Management Software: Significantly Reduce the Wait Time

Benefits of Queue Management Software: Improve Customer Experience

Benefits of Queue Management Software: Increase Customer Loyalty

Benefits of Queue Management Software: Improve Employee Efficiency

Benefits of Queue Management Software: Collects Business Intelligence Data

Conclusion

What can a Queue Management System do for you?

Queue Management System: Reduces Customer Wait Time

Improve Customer Wait Experience

Improve Customer Flow and Customer Journey

Raise Service Quality and Improve Business Processes

Achieve Customer Satisfaction and Gain Customer Loyalty

Improve Staff Performance and Achieve Staff Satisfaction

Gather Valuable Business Intelligence Data

Reduce Cost and Increase Profitability

Conclusion

The Concept of Queue Management and Crowd Control

What is Queue Management and Crowd Control?

What is Queuing Theory?

What is Queue Management System?

What are Different Types of a Queue Management System?

Queue Management System Software

Basic QMS Software Modules

Advanced QMS Software Modules

Queue Management System Hardware

Basic QMS Hardware Modules

Advanced QMS Hardware Modules

How Queue Management System Helps in Crowd Control and Crowd Prevention?

Key Benefits of a Queue Management System

Conclusion

Queue Management System for Banks in 2022

Queue Management System Reduce Wait Time at Banks

Queue Management System Automates Customer Journey

Queue Management System Enhances Customer Experience

Virtual Queuing Offers Ultimate Customer Satisfaction

Queue Management System Integration with Third-Party Systems

Queue Management System Mobile Apps & Appoint Booking Modules

Queue Management System can Collect Customer Feedback Data

Queue Management System Collects Valuable Business Intelligence and Performance Data

Conclusion

Why Queue Management Systems Are Essential For Modern Businesses?

What is Queue Management?

What is a Queue Management System?

What Makes Queue Management System (QMS) Essential for Modern Businesses?

Reduce Customer Wait Time

Reduce Perceived Wait Time and Improve Waiting Experience

Virtual Queuing Literally Reduces the Wait Time to None

Automatic Customer Flow Management Improves Customer Experience

Reduce Employee Work Load and Improve Employee Performance

Collect Valuable Business Intelligence Data (Stats, KPIs, Feedback, etc.)

Queue Management System Increases Productivity and Profitability