Queuing System – Explain With Definition, Examples, and Benefits

At the first glance, the answer is obvious: it’s a system whose purpose is to help with queuing. While this answer isn’t strictly wrong, names can be deceiving. It’s easy to take a queuing solution for granted when you don’t fully understand everything that it entails. So take out your notebooks and sharpen your pencils! We’re going down the adventurous road to queue management.

You’ll learn why queue management matters, how to queue systems work, and what benefits there are to using a queuing system in your business. Let’s dive right in.

Queue Management: What It Is and Why It Matters

Previously, we’ve defined queue management as a set of principles aimed at controlling customer flow and streamlining the queuing experience. To add to that, queue management is not something that is needed once or twice. For it to bring results, queue management needs to be a continuous process.

On paper, a huge number of visitors is a good thing for your business. That’s a lot of potential sales just waiting to happen! The problem arises when the influx of customers exceeds the capabilities of employees. The fewer service clerks there are, the smaller the crowd of customers they can manage.

The results? 51% of US consumers switched service providers in 2012 due to poor customer service experiences. Left on their own, service clerks can’t help but feel overwhelmed when faced with Hun-like hordes of visitors storming in. It’s only when equipped with queue management tools that they can prevail. Queue management primarily concerns queue areas — i.e., places where queues happen. But what exactly is a queue

You could say it’s a line of people waiting for services or products to be provided. But you can also frame it as an application of the “demands exceed the supply” problem. As we’ve put it above, “the influx of customers (demands) exceed the capabilities of employees (supply)”.Queue management is what helps to maintain this fragile equilibrium.

Introduction to Queuing Systems:

Queue systems have come a long way. They went from simple physical barriers to state-of-the-art virtual queuing software. There are many types of Digital branch transformation to choose from, but their most simple cases are also among the least effective.

Take, for example, crowd barriers. Crowd barriers, or stanchions, are typically used in hotels, banks, movie theatres, public events, and other venues. Their main goal is crowd control by limiting the access to certain areas. On the one hand, it seems logical to use physical tools to manage the flow of customers who are physically present at your location.

On the other hand, our digital age calls for something more sophisticated. Putting your visitors inside a labyrinth of rope barriers also has an adverse effect on their psychological state.

Remember 12 positive customer service experiences to make up for one negative experience. Obviously, the situation calls for more elegant solutions. A modern, digital-based queuing solution operates on a different level than simple crowd management tools. A digital queue system provides customers with a sense of agency, as they sign themselves up for services using self-service kiosks — interactive terminals placed at points of high foot traffic.

After signing up, a customer needs to look at the screen which provides relevant stats: your place in a queue, the number of people before you, and the service point you need to go to, etc. With clear instructions and text message notifications, the queuing process is faster than ever. The checkouts are efficient, waiting time is reduced, and shopping experience is greatly improved.

Meanwhile, staff receives valuable metrics like queue lengths, waiting times, and other information provided by queue management systems that work towards further improving the service. What exactly goes into making the process of queuing smooth? Let’s take a look at the principles of queuing systems.

A Brief Conclusion on Queuing Systems:

Repeat what we’ve learned so far, a queue system is an essential part of modern businesses’ service. A queuing solution is needed in every industry, from retail to education, and this need grows stronger as visitors crave more comfort.

Digital branch transformation’s main focus is on customer experience, but the value of a queue system is not limited to solving queues. Queue management helps decrease customer wait and service times, and improve service and staff efficiency, thereby increasing revenue. By providing your customers with fair, reasonable, explained wait times, you’re building a loyal customer base for your business.