Waiting in line—otherwise known as queuing—is a part of life when we need service. But how customers wait can make all the difference. Digital queue solutions improve the waiting experience with great features like remote check-in, real-time updates, and the ability to wait anywhere.
Queue management software is an effective tool for improving your operations. A dashboard tracks details such as how many customers are in line, how long they’re waiting and for what service, and how quickly employees complete transactions.
Historical and real-time insights allow broad and granular data, depending on business needs. Any breakdown at the service point of the customer journey is quickly apparent and can be remedied by identifying employees who need additional training.
Centralized Management
When customers check into the queuing software, they are asked a series of questions about the kind of service they need. This information informs the centralized management dashboard of real-time data accessible from any device.
With the dashboard, leaders have a bird’s-eye view of what’s going on during the day. Available insights include customer wait times, how many people are being served at any given time and by whom, and which queue is the busiest. Having this information helps managers reallocate workers on the fly, moving staff to areas that need more attention to complete transactions quickly and keep service levels high.
Leaders can also view historical data to better understand peak periods of customer traffic and how workers move customers through their transactions. For example, numbers for the whole department can help identify ideal ways to stagger break times or determine the need for more—or fewer—people.
Employee Performance
When customers check into the software, workers receive information about what individuals need well before they arrive. They also have a better idea of how many people they can expect during any given hour of their shift.
Without virtual queue software, your staff feels the pinch of trying to move buyers through service more quickly. Having the information, products, or tools ready to complete the necessary service empowers employees to deliver efficient, high-quality service with every interaction.
Most often, service times increase when workers lack the confidence to meet a customer’s needs. Virtual queue software identifies which line a customer waits in depending on what they indicated they need during remote check-in.
If a worker’s transaction times are greater in one area than another, managers can target the employee who needs coaching. Using the dashboard’s reporting tools to drill down to the staff level more accurately identifies workers who could benefit from additional training in one or more areas to bring them up to speed.
Customer Feedback
Once customers check in to the software, they are in the queuing system, and you can ask them for feedback about their most recent interaction with your business and the employees they encountered. In addition to a star rating or a satisfaction scale survey, you can ask more detailed questions as well.
Make sure your queuing software includes a survey tool for customizable questions specific to your business and the kind of interaction they had with your employees. Customer feedback on what made them happy and where they see the need for improvement can help leaders select or improve onboarding worker training programs and ongoing skill enhancement opportunities.
Final Thoughts
Virtual queue software improves wait experiences because customers have more control over how they wait. It also makes managing operations more effective and efficient by gathering data about customer wait times and how employee performance has an impact on the overall customer experience.
Evaluating employee performance is a nuanced undertaking that takes into account a number of metrics, and providing consistently high-quality service is one of the most important. Combined insights from customer satisfaction surveys and queuing software reporting tools can be used to identify workers who need additional coaching or training to ensure your business is always associated with exceptional customer experiences.
