Skip the Queue!

When it comes to ruining a great restaurant experience, nothing irks customers quite as much as making them wait in a disorganized queue. Queue management is an absolute must if you want to ensure repeat business and positive word of mouth. Not only will an efficient queue lead to faster seating and happier customers, but it’ll also ensure staff can stay focused without stressing out over an increasing line of angry, hungry customers!

What are Queue Management Systems?

Queue management systems can take many shapes and forms. In its most basic form, queue management systems are co-existing technologies and features that can be integrated into your business in meaningful ways to help manage, organize and simplify queuing. Some components of queue management systems may include:

1. Queue Ticket Kiosks 

Queue Ticket Kiosks let customers enter how many people there are in their party and get a queueing ticket. They will know their status in line based on a screen (e-signage) that updates regularly.

2. QR Code Tickets

Similar to Queue Ticket Kiosks, you can also integrate QR codes into the customer’s queuing ticket so that they can simply use their mobile devices (BYOD) to scan the QR code and know the status of the queue. This lets customers do other things instead of waiting in line and clogging up the entrance of your restaurant. It also makes the perceived waiting time shorter, which is always a good thing if your restaurant is busy.

3. User App and Merchant App

This form of queue management system allows customers (users) to enter a queue online so that they can wait in a virtual line. The Merchant App (used by restaurant staff) can indicate how many people are in line and how many people per party so staff know how to best seat everyone and manage incoming customers. 

Let’s take a look at 7 awesome benefits of upgrading your queue management system:

1. Reduce Waiting Time

This is likely the most important reason any restaurant would want to invest in a new queue management system. While waiting is something customers can tolerate, you don’t want to push that threshold to the point that they switch to another restaurant. Since there are no switching costs for hungry customers to move their patronage to another restaurant, it’s important you don’t give them the chance to get annoyed. And as we all know, waiting in a long line is one of the fastest ways for customers to grow irritated at a business. 

Research has concluded that, “A longer waiting time will be associated with longer time until a customer returns.” This is something a restaurant business wants to avoid at all costs!

2. Redefine the Line

Change people’s perceptions of queuing for the better. If people can get a ticket themselves, scan a QR code to know their queue status, or even just use an app to line up in a virtual queue, the pain of queuing is drastically reduced - which leads to happier customers. 

3. Boost Your Customer Loyalty 

One of the defining factors in customer loyalty is the “perceived value of products and services.” Long queuing times severely lower the perceived value of a business’ service, even if the end product (the food) is good. What this means is that a long queue ruins a customer’s mood so much, that even if the food is amazing, they won’t enjoy it as much. This, in turn, leads to a poor valuation of the restaurant’s products and services, which leads to a reduction in customer loyalty. Reducing waiting times can therefore positively impact the perceived value of your restaurant's products and services, which will increase customer loyalty.

4. Boost Staff Morale

Giving your restaurant staff the tools to manage queues efficiently not only helps them to avoid being confronted by angry customers, but can also ensure that they are able to keep your restaurant running with higher table turnover. Great organization eliminates a lot of waiting time from the queuing process, which will make your staff feel empowered, while also leading to friendlier and happier customers (who don’t need to wait long in queues). Overall, a queue management system can really boost the staff experience and morale in a restaurant.

5. Lower Costs and Increase Revenue

Your queue management system, if working correctly, will help you lower queue times, improve staff productivity and boost customer satisfaction. The lowering of queue times means you can seat more customers in a shorter period of time while increasing the spend amount, in general. The boost in staff productivity will ensure your restaurant’s efficiency increases, again, leading to growing revenue and lower costs since fewer staff can be employed to achieve the same results. Boosting customer satisfaction leads to higher customer loyalty, which can cause repeat business, positive word of mouth, and more. All these factors combined will help reduce costs, while boosting revenue.