Queue Management System Archives - Page 2 of 8 - RSI Concepts - Top IT Solution Provider Company in Dubai, UAE

August 18, 2023October 14, 2023

A Complete Guide to a Multi-Branch Queue Management System

Customer facing environments are most sensitive part of a business’s operations. It is extremely important for a business to maximize the operational productivity to ensure the customers are having a satisfactory experience. For large businesses with multiple branches the management is even more challenging. Usually the senior management is sitting in the head office, it is a time taking process to get the updates and information related to any branch. Most of the time the head office will have to approach the branch manager to provide them the required information. The queuing and customer flow management is always difficult. Therefore businesses need a digital queue management system which can help them streamline their customer flow and improve their operational capabilities. The digital queue management system provides live queuing coverage, instant updates, alerts/notifications, business intelligence data and useful features for service agent, branch managers, head office and senior management. The queue management system is an intelligent software solution with hardware components to offer a full control and monitoring over the customer journey which helps improving customer experience. In this guide we will discuss how business can implement and leverage a multi-branch queue management system to drive growth.

What is a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?

A multi-branch queue management system is a centralized queue management system which enables businesses to manage and monitor customer queues and customer flow in real-time across all connected branches. The multi-branch queue management system runs on a centralized software which is hosted on an in-premises server, online or in cloud. The server is connected to all branches. A basic queue management system have multiple devices integrated in a synchronized framework. For example, there is an interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosk which not only dispense tokens but also take basic information of the customer and in some cases it has ability to ID the customer as well. There is a digital signage screen which displays the live queuing information along with some multimedia content. The modern queue management systems also have integrated counter name plates which display counter number and the token number which is being served at the moment. Furthermore there is an audio announcement system which is used for customer calling. All these devices form one branch’s setup, and if there are more than one branch, in case of a multi-branch queue management system all these devices in all branches are connected to a centralized queue management software which monitor and control all these components of the system.

How does a Multi-Branch Queue Management System Works?

The multi-branch queuing also works on the concept of queue management system and crowd control, but it provides additional management features which greatly improve the efficiency of the queuing process. In a multi-branch queue management system setup all branches are connected via network to the main server software. The server application communicates with all branches in real-time. Whenever any action is taken in any branch the information is sent to the server and then the response is sent to the branch instantly. Think of a website, the website is hosted on a cloud which might be located in another continent, however, when you click on a link or a file, it immediately opens it. Same technical process works here too. When a user/customer in any branch choose a service to generate a token number, the information is sent to the queue management system software which is hosted on a server, and then in return it issues a token number which is being printed out instantly from where the user/customer made the request. All branches are connected to the head-office in a similar fashion via a public or private network. The smart algorithms and source code is executed at the server, and all the data is also stored in the server. The service agents, branch managers, and the senior management or head office staff gets their dedicated administrative dashboards and the access to data and functionality is managed by an in-built administration and authentication module. That is how a multi-branch queue management system works.

What are the Benefits of using a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?

The biggest advantage of a multi-branch queue management system is that it offers a centralized management framework where all the information are stored in a central location, which makes management and monitoring much easier comparing to standalone queue management system. If each branch have a standalone queue management system then the information will be stored in silos, which poses monitoring and management challenges. Furthermore the senior management or head office doesn’t require any intermediate database/integration to consolidate all the information flowing from and towards all branches. Here are the key benefits of a multi-branch queue management system:

Easy Monitoring and Administration from a centralized location
All the data and updates are available in a centralized location which enables real-time monitoring and control over all connected branches
Since there is only one main queue management system software, therefore the implementation, operational and maintenance cost is low
All the dashboards are updated in real-time, the content/configurations can be pushed in real-time to all connected branches
Handling large footfall, congestion, and several other problems is easy with real-time monitoring and it enables the management to take quick and informed decisions
Enables real-time monitoring of customer flow, customer wait time, employee performance and other queuing metrics and system stats
Senior managers, branch managers, supervisors and stakeholders have up-to-date information and data all the time, there is no lag or latency
Easy integration with third-party software tools, customer databases, and central information center help driving efficiency and productivity

A multi-branch queue management system is essential for businesses who are managing multiple branches in remote locations, it help them minimize the administrative efforts while maximizing the operational productivity.

What are the Benefits of using a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?

What are the Best Practices for Implementing a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?

Implementing a multi-branch queue management system is a crucial task. The businesses should be very careful in choosing the right vendor, technology, queuing system type and several other factors. Here are some key points that a business should consider while implementing a multi-branch queue management system:

Identify your requirements and make a plan of what features you want to include
Find and shortlist multiple queue management system vendors
Scrutinize all vendors, evaluate proposals and finalize the best vendor
Choose the right platform and queuing type for your business
Always start with a pilot project, implement the system at one or maximum two branches
Train your employees, provide them with the manuals and required technical support, etc.
Now closely observe the performance of the branch and try to find what can be improved
Take feedback from customers, employees, managers and relevant stakeholders
Discuss and share your observations and finding with the vendor and make improvements
Monitor the system and evaluate the changes you made, and repeat until your customers are satisfied
Now go for full-fledge implementation or start implementing in remaining branches one-by-one

If you will consider the above suggestions you can save a lot of time and efforts.

What are the Best Practices for Implementing a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?

What are the Challenges of Implementing a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?

Implementing a multi-branch queue management system is not an easy task, there are several challenges that a business could face while implementing a multi-channel queue management system, such as:

Initial Cost: One of the biggest challenge is the initial cost, if you are planning to implement a multi-branch queue management system across all branches at once, the cost could be very high. That is why the best practice is to start with pilot project, and implement the queue management system to all branches in small chunks, such as one-by-one, or 2 or 3 branches at a time, etc.
System Integration: When you are implementing a multi-branch queue management system or any other system, the biggest technical challenge is the integration with other tools, and data synchronization. A modern queue management system with customer-friendly features would require many different types of integration. If your existing IT infrastructure and other systems are not compatible then you might have to develop intermediate tools to streamline the data flow.
Employee Training: Whenever a business implements a new solution they require training for the employees, same is the case with the multi-branch queue management system. You must have to train your employees in order to enable them to leverage the full potential of the queue management system. User manuals, guides, and training videos can be created to make your employees well versed with your new multi-branch queue management system.

It might sound difficult and a bit challenging though but implementing a multi-branch queue management system is not as that challenging. Businesses will have to face all these challenges whenever they implement a new system. However, a queue management system is relatively easier to work with, furthermore the business can use customized UIs and branding tactics to reduce the training needs.

What are the Challenges of Implementing a Multi-Branch Queue Management System?

Conclusion

The customer satisfaction is essential for growth and stability. Businesses are always eager to implement solutions and offer services to raise the customer satisfaction. Businesses managing multiple branches always face administrative issues, the visibility and data flow is one of the most challenging task in any multi-branch setup. That is why when it comes to queue management system, most of the businesses in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other emirates of UAE prefer to implement standalone systems. However, that is not ideal, in order to leverage the full potential of a modern queue management system businesses need a comprehensive multi-branch queuing solution. A multi-branch queue management system is a very effective tool, it help businesses dealing with technical challenges, and it offer real-time monitoring and control over all branches. That is what makes it most effective. In this guide we have discussed multi-branch queue management system in brief details and tried to answer most of the questions a business could have while planning to implement a multi-branch queue management system. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to implement a customized and very cost-efficiency multi-branch 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.

July 24, 2023

Redefining Queue Management: How to Enhance the Customer Experience

For any business the customer satisfaction is the prime goal, it assures long term success, stability and growth. Businesses operating in service sector understand the importance of customer flow optimization and customer journey management. Especially in Dubai and anywhere in UAE the markets are very competitive, the customers have too many options available and people usually tend to switch after getting even only a single bad experience. That is why queue management is crucial for a business’s success. Long queues, poorly managed waiting lines and crowded lobbies are a great dissatisfaction for the customers, which not only raise customer churn but also harm business’s brand image and reputation. There are several challenges that customer facing environment have, one of the biggest is delay in service and long waiting time, furthermore the management of customer service center is also complicated and collectively everything impacts the customer experience. A queue management system not only reduce wait time it also streamline customer flow, provide real-time monitoring and it is very helpful for the management and staff which results in higher efficiency and raise customer satisfaction.

What is a Modern Queue Management System?

A modern queue management system is a digital solution which includes both software and hardware components. The software is designed with AI based smart technologies which enables it to collect data in real-time, take decisions at its own to improve customer flow and it improves management. A queue management system allow to monitor, track and improve customer movement within the premises and help improving customer waiting experience and customer journey. It automates several queuing processes and capture business intelligence data from each and every customer touch point. This ability allows it to take decisions at its own to ensure a smoother customer flow. Queue management system helps both service agents and the management to effectively improve the queuing process. It not only eliminates the inefficient and manual queuing practices but it also collects valuable business intelligence data insights which can be integrated in decision making and strategy building processes to further improve the customer flow management policy and practices. In this blog we will discuss how a modern queue management system can greatly enhance customer experience to achieve higher satisfaction.

Customer Experience: Long Wait Time

Long wait time has the most impact on the customer experience than anything else. No matter how good your office or facility is, how well your staff is trained, if your customers will have to face long wait time they will eventually end up unhappy. According to several studies on an average a customer could tolerate around 9 minutes of wait time, and any minute adding to that will have toll on customer experience, so much so that a time will come when your customers will become annoyed enough that they will decide to leave without even getting the service. This is called customer churn and keeping it at the lowest possible value is crucial for your business’s success. Longer wait time doesn’t only bother your customers but there is a phenomenon known as perceived wait time, which even worsen the conditions for both businesses and customers. The perceived wait time is the wait time our brain perceived instead of tracking the real-time. The perceived time is always higher than the actual time, for example, your customers have waited for let say 20 minutes however their mind perceive it longer than that maybe 30 or even 40 minutes.

Longer wait time means even longer perceived wait time which results in bad customer experience and cause frustration. That is why it is important to control, reduce and efficiently manage both wait times. A modern queue management system not only help minimizing the wait time but it also offer features which help reducing the perceived wait time’s impact by increasing customer engagements. There is another psychological phenomenon into play which is the fear of unknown, if the customers have no clue of how long they will have to wait this will add to their fear and they think they might have to wait for long period of time. However, a queue management systems comes with a powerful software tools which is built on smart AI and advanced data processing algorithms. These features enable queue management system to monitor the live queuing situation, consider the historical data and measure the ongoing performance on the service counters and estimate the remaining time to service. Hence when the customers are given their token they are also provided with estimated time to their turn.

When the customer know how long they will have to wait, they tend to remain calm. Furthermore there are several other features which help improving customers’ waiting experience. A modern queue management system comes with a smart customer calling module. The modern queue management systems are integrated with digital signage displays and a multi-lingual audio calling system. The digital signage keep displaying the current token number at service counters, upcoming tokens and few more details which keep customers distracted from the waiting and minimize the impact of waiting. Furthermore the queue management system can automatically make audio announcement where it calls token number and the service counter allotted to that token number, usually the customer call is made in two or three languages followed by a short music tone. The digital signage screens are also not only used to display queuing information, but a modern queue management system comes with in-built digital signage management module as well. Which allow businesses to run marketing or promotional videos or any other entertaining content on the large displays along with the queuing information. The digital signage and speakers are installed at strategic locations with aim of ensuring every customer at any place in the waiting area can view the signage or listen to the audio announcement. All these features help greatly reduce the waiting stress and improve customers’ waiting experience.

Customer Experience: Quick Service Delivery

Let us just admit whenever we have to face a situation where we have to wait for some time in a queue or in waiting area, in such situation when we reach to the service counter we want to get the service as quickly as possible and leave. For any customer facing environment it is crucial to offer a quality service and in a timely manner. When the customers already waited for some time, they are in hurry and want to leave as quickly as possible. A modern queue management system help businesses minimize the service delivery time by offering specialized features to automatically manage the customer journey and to help the service staff in their tasks. A modern queue management system offers a dedicated dashboard for the service agents, it can integrate with central information center and other third-party tools to enable quick availability of the data and information for the service agents, and it monitors employee KPIs. All these features help reducing the service delivery time and ensure a smooth customer flow. A queue management system automates several customer journey steps, and internal processes which means the staff doesn’t have to worry about any such thing, in fact they can easily focus on their primary tasks which results in quicker service delivery as well as improved service quality.

For any customer facing environment it is crucial to offer a quality service and in a timely manner

Furthermore the queue management system also allow customers to sign-in using self-service ticket dispensing kiosk. Usually the ticket dispensing kiosk as the customers about what service they need this help the queue management system to route the customer to the right service counter and put them in the right queue. Most of the time customers end-up in the wrong queue which could cause a lot of problems and result in delays in service delivery. On top of that each business have its own queuing policies. Businesses always offer multiple services and apart form that there are different customer groups which are prioritized differently, for example, the VIP customers, people with special needs, elderly people, etc. All these customers are expecting a different treatment from the business, which is defined in the queuing policy. A modern queue management system help businesses effectively implement their queuing policies and provide better monitoring and control over customer flow. Some businesses also offer stepped services which means a customer is required to visit multiple or more than one service counter in order to get a complete service. All these variables can make queuing very complex for both businesses and customers and cause unnecessary delays in service delivery.

A queue management system automates several customer journey steps, and internal processes

Customer Experience: Better Service Quality

The service quality or the quality of the interaction a customer have with the service agent can greatly influence their opinion about your business. It is essential to ensure a customer have a happy and satisfactory experience with your service staff. A queue management system help reducing the workload of the service staff. With manual queuing the staff regularly have to engage in queue management tasks, which distract them from their primary tasks and result in poor quality service and more customer complaints. With the queue management system the entire queuing process is autonomous which means the service staff have more time to focus on their primary tasks, this increase their performance which improve service quality. Furthermore the queue management system also help service agents with their several other tasks which also result in quicker and better service delivery. The modern queue management system comes with advance employee performance monitoring tools which also help management track and monitor employee performance and collect valuable data which support HR decisions and help improving the workforce. All these features collectively help management improve the service quality and consequently the customer experience.

It is essential to ensure a customer have a happy and satisfactory experience with your service staff

Customer Experience: Business Intelligence Data

Data plays a crucial role in the success of any modern business, majorly due to the digital advancements, rise of online channels and customer preferences, the businesses are compelled to adopt to modern IT infrastructure in order to stay relevant and competitive. A modern queue management system can produce a wealth of highly accurate and valuable business intelligence data which can help businesses refine the customer experience by acquiring insight to customer behavior, detecting pain points and highlighting the areas of improvements. The business intelligence data covers a wide spectrum insight and information such as queue management system usage stats, customer preferences, customer footfall analytical data, employee performance data, and even the customer feedback data. The business intelligence data is collected autonomously and available in form of interactive reports. The management can customize these reports to align them with their goals and strategies. The business intelligence data can also be synchronized with central information center or any other third-party system via easy integration. When management have accurate data and insight they can make informed decisions. It also help evaluating business strategies, processes and practices and help businesses to make improvements which results in better operational performance and higher customer satisfaction.

Business Intelligence Data plays a crucial role in the success of any modern business

Conclusion

Queue management system offer a variety of features and tools which help management improve the customer experience, optimize the operational cost, improve employee performance and achieve higher profitability. A good customer experience is crucial for a business to build a good brand image. The competition is tough in Dubai and other parts of UAE, businesses proactively improve their offerings to delight their customers. The customers are also very demanding and the market trends are subjected to subtle and monumental changes. It could be very difficult for a business to keep up with these changes without having right tools in their arsenal. A queue management system is the perfect companion for any customer facing environment. It help reducing the wait time, have positive impact on employee performance, and it significantly improves the customer experience. A queue management system offers a centralized management mechanisms which enables businesses to monitor all connected branches in real-time and make sure right actions are taken and in timely manners to avoid any disruption or unwanted delay in customer flow. In this blog we have discussed how a modern queue management system can help businesses enhance the customer experience and leverage the technology to achieve their long term goals and success. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want us to help you implementing a tailor-made queue management system solution 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.

July 12, 2023July 12, 2023

Best Features of a Digital Queue Management System for Banks

Banks offer crucial financial services for individuals and businesses which are essential for our modern societies. If you are living in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi or anywhere else in UAE, you must have visited a bank either for account opening or for business purposes. If you recall your last interaction with a bank, how was your experience at the branch? I am sure it was not as pleasing as it should be. The biggest problems at banks is the large customer influx, a customer might have to wait for 30 to 45 minutes for a service which can be delivered in 5 minutes. Obviously your appointment at bank is not something which you should expect to be enjoyable or entertaining but at least it should be comfortable, convenient and friction-less. This means that there are still some flaws and problems with the banking sector which are impacting customer experience. The average wait time for a typical bank service is around 20 minutes or in some cases even more than that, which cause stress and frustration. A digital queue management system solve all those problems and it also helps improving customer experience.

What is a Digital Queue Management System?

A queue management system is a combination of tools and strategy to improve customer flow and maximize the performance of the customer service centers. The early form of queue management systems was first-come-first-serve based waiting line. Then businesses started sorting them in multiple waiting lines. Later on technology is introduced to the queuing systems. The digital queue management system is the latest form of customer flow management systems. A digital queue management system also consists of some digital tools (software and hardware) and a queuing strategy which help banks to significantly improve the customer experience, maximize their branch productivity and profitability and it also help improving staff performance. A digital queue management system also help businesses meet the ever-increasing customer expectations and it also collects valuable business intelligence data which is very helpful for businesses.

Here are the key features of a digital queue management system for a bank:

Digital Queue Management System: Reduction in Customer Wait Time

Customer wait time is one of the major cause of customer dissatisfaction. A digital queue management system is a very capable tool which can greatly reduce customer wait time and it also help improving customers’ waiting experience. Customers can sign-in using multiple methods which makes it very easy and convenience. Once customers are singed-in they are issued a ticket number which is their position in the queue. The customers are allowed to wait freely either in the waiting areas or even outside of the bank premises. The queue management system can also communicate with customers using SMS or WhatsApp or any other channel. It sends them live queuing information, alerts and notifications which prevent customers from missing out their turn in the queue. Furthermore the digital queue management system also have a digital signage screen, usually more than one screens are placed on strategic locations to ensure every customers can easily view information on these screens. Along with queuing information, multimedia content can also be played which help diverting customer’s focus form waiting time. The frequent audio announcements also keep customer engaged and reduce the stress of waiting.

Digital Queue Management System: Customer Journey Transformation

A digital queue management system has an AI (artificial intelligence) based very powerful software engine which make it more effective and efficient. A digital queue management system is a customer journey transformation tool. It can enhance customer’s entire visit even from pre-arrival to post-service activities, a digital queue management system effectively improves the entire customer journey. Furthermore a digital queue management system is capable of collecting customer behavioral, statistical and performance data which enables it to take instant decisions on the bases of real-time queuing situation. A typical bank have multiple services which they are offering at their branches, some service counters are exclusive for certain services some are for general services and furthermore there are also customer classifications and priority levels that the bank has to accommodate. It means that the bank has a very complex queuing strategy. A digital queue management system not only help banks implement their strategy but it also improving it. It can automatically route customers to the right service counter and as per their priority level or any other parameter that is applicable it manages the entire customer journey and ensure maximum efficiency, smooth customer flow and less wait time.

Digital Queue Management System: Boost Branch Efficiency

A digital queue management system is not just designed to reduce the customer wait time. It is a very powerful tool which can help improving several processes and have huge impact on the overall efficiency and performance of the entire bank branch. The digital queue management system automates several processes and customer journey steps. For example, the customer sing-in is completely automated, customers can utilize the interactive kiosk to sign-in and get the token number or they can utilize any supported virtual channel to sign-in and get a digital token or e-ticket. Furthermore everyone is served only at their turn, there is no chance of staff giving importance to any customer, this not only help improving the customer flow but it also help gaining customer trust. Furthermore there are no disputes, line jumping or any such problem that is associated with manual queuing. This means that the customer flow is entirely managed by the queue management system and the staff doesn’t have to involve at any stage. This not only speed up everything but it also help reducing the employees’ workload. When the staff works under balanced workload they tend to perform well and deliver high-quality service which improve branch performance. The employee have more time to focus on their primary tasks and they don’t have to worry about queuing problems which save a lot of time and also help reducing the service delivery time and resultantly customer wait time. All these improvements help boosting branch efficiency, employee performance, reduce human resource cost and ensure satisfactory service delivery.

Digital Queue Management System: Collects Business Intelligence Data

A digital queue management system is capable of collecting highly valuable business intelligence data from each and every customer touch point throughout the customer journey. Since the entire customer interaction digitally managed, collecting statistical data is much easier. For example, the queue management system can provide comprehensive insight to the customer flow such as which services most customer are choosing, what is average customer wait time, what is average service time and which employee is performing better and at which stage the customers are waiting longer than expected, etc. A digital queue management system is also capable of collecting customers’ behavioral data and compile it in form of easy-to-understand reports which help management understand customer behavior trend, performance trends, footfall trends and many more useful insights. A digital queue management system can collects a wealth of business intelligence data which can be very useful in decision making processes and help management evaluate their queuing strategy, customer journey and various other processes that can directly impact the customer experience. Furthermore a digital queue management system can also facilitate customer feedback collection and help banks collecting valuable customer feedback.

Conclusion

Banks offer most important financial services which are integral for our society and businesses to work. Whether you visit a bank in individual capacity or for your business, visit to a bank is inevitable. Banks also know that very well, hence they are always investing in innovative solutions and technologies to ensure their customers and visitors have an excellent customer experience. The overall UAE market in general is very dynamic, vibrant and versatile, for customers there are so many options to choose from. This is what makes customer satisfaction crucial for banks. If a bank wants to obtain customer loyalty then they must have to level up their game at customer experience and customer service. A digital queue management system is a perfect companion for banks who want to improve their customer experience. It help banks automate several customer journey processes and improve employees’ performance without compromising the customer satisfaction. In fact queue management systems are known for delivering highest customer satisfaction in all customer-facing environments. In this blog we discussed what a queue management system is and what features it offer which can help banks achieve maximum productivity, performance and customer satisfaction. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to transform your bank branch with our customized queue management system solution, 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.

February 16, 2023

The Beginner’s Guide to Queuing Theory

Most of the businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE faces problem with their queue management. It is common to sight long waiting lines and poorly managed queues at service centers, banks, telecom branches, government offices, and even in healthcare and educational institutions. In fact the queues are everywhere in our lives, some of them we might not consider as queues, and some we might address with other names. For example, let us suppose you woke up in the morning, while driving to your office at the road, the congestion and traffic is a queue, you went to a gas station and you stand in a queue to wait for your turn to fill the tank, you arrive at your work and you might see a line at the attendance register or biometrics attendance machine and so on. We usually don’t realize, but the queues are everywhere and everyone have to face them. Every business belongs to the service industry will have to deal with the queue management problems. When it comes to adopt a modern queue management system the business leaders and managers often get confused due to the sheer number of possibilities available in the market.

Why Learning about Queuing Theory is Important for Businesses?

The queuing is a process where human, information or even material could be the subject waiting in lines for their turn. For example, the cars on a congested road are waiting in queues to pass an intersection, the customer call waiting at a call center is also queue, and the baggage control at the airport is passing your luggage through the queuing lines. All these different scenarios are the examples of the queuing. In this world the time is the most precious commodity, it is irreversible, no one wants to waste it. Businesses don’t want to waste their customers’ time neither their own. Because wasting time can completely destroy the productivity and cause stressful situations for all concerned parties. Different queuing scenarios are the biggest cause of wasting our time whether it is at the road in traffic jam, or whether it is at a bank, office, service center, university, collage, hospital, hotel, restaurant, movie theater, or anywhere, it simply waste our time and it is very annoying. As queuing cause waste of time which directly impact the productivity that is why it is crucial for businesses to understand queuing theory.

The Queuing Theory

By definition the queuing theory or the queuing model is a study and knowledge of learning about the waiting lines, expected scenarios and queuing behavior based on discrete information,statistical/analytical data and practical assumptions. The purpose of a queuing theory is to measure the efficiency, effectiveness and overall performance of a queue management system. For example the queuing theory help you understand the long term behavior of the queue management system by estimating the average wait time, the probability of the customer flow at any given time period, the performance of the service agent, and service delivery time. This will help you determine the need of the servers and the wait and service delivery time, as per your demands or goals. For example you will have to make assumption such as inputs the distribution of arrival and service time and the count of the server to implement the formula of the queuing theory to estimate the performance and effectiveness of the queue management system. The queuing theory formula will help you to understand the long term behavior or commonly known as the steady state behavior of your queue management system. The queuing theory or queuing model will enable you to test different scenarios to achieve the perfect match as per you needs and goals.

The Steady State Queuing Behavior

The steady state queuing behavior is due to the assumption that the queue management system doesn’t change anymore and maintain a steady state. It means that the influx, the server performance and various other variables that are used in the mathematical derivations are constant now and give a more rational measurement of the performance. The performance of a queue management system is very difficult to estimate in real-time as in real-time and practical example, there are too many variables and moving parts, which could either improve or hinder the effectiveness of the queue management system and most of them are non-linear. That is the reason the steady state queuing behavior is used to compare two different queue management systems and to test various different scenarios and configurations. The steady state queuing behavior analysis will help businesses to find out the most perfect and effective queuing setup as per their demands and goals. That is why the queuing theory alone is not enough, hence businesses use simulation technique where they keep changing the state of the queue management system, measure the performance for each state and then take an average to understand the actual performance of a real-world application of the queuing theory.

The Importance of Queuing Discipline

Usually the notion of queuing discipline is first come first serve which is based on two factors, the performance and the fairness. However, that is not applicable all the time, in fact most of the time the businesses tend to utilize different queuing disciplines and more importantly is to understand that the performance of a queue management system can also be improved by utilizing more than one disciplines at a time. Here are the most commonly used queuing disciplines that are popular among the businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE:

First in first out (FIFO): This is the most ancient queuing discipline, whoever will come first should be served first to maximize the performance and fairness.
Last in first out (LIFO): This queuing discipline is most popular for the goods and materials, such as items that are placed in a delivery truck at the last should go out first.
Loop: The loop queuing discipline is popular for non-human queuing, it is being frequently used in the information systems and also in the production environments where every queuing subject needs constant service.
At once: That is also one of the most observed queuing discipline with limited application in the service industry. In ‘at once’ queuing configuration everyone wants to get served at the same time and the influx should be managed with a set of distributed server.
Priority Queues: The priority queues are the most frequently used queuing discipline in the service industry, where different customer groups have different level of priority and everyone is served on the bases of their priority not their arrival.

It is crucial for a business to learn and understand the different queuing disciplines. As this will help them to set up their queuing environment and the specifications of the queue management system will be varied based on the required queuing disciplines.

The Measurements of the Queuing Theory

It is extremely difficult to explain the queuing theory to people without any understanding of the operational science. One must have scientific knowledge and understanding of various formulas to estimate the performance of the queuing system.

Here is the formula to calculate the performance of the queue management system:

L = λW

Where

L = Average Number of the Customers

λ = Average Arrival Rate of the Customer

W = Average Service Time for the Customers

This formula was proposed by Mr. John Little which is used to understand the relationship between the distribution rate of the customers and the time required by them to get served. However, the queuing process includes other important factors which can impact its performance:

Customer Arrival: The arrival rate of the customers who are positioned first in the waiting lines
System Capacity: It is the maximum capacity of the queue management system to handle the customers
Service Points: These are the service points where the service is delivered, it could be a single point service or a multi-step service which require arrival at one server and departure from a different server
Output: The output is the customers who are departing from the system after getting the service

There are several other more complex theoretical and mathematical models that are commonly used in by the operation researches in the queuing theory, such as David George Kendall’s queuing model, Hall’s Queuing Rule of Thumb, etc. but those would be too complex to discuss here. However, the important thing to understand is that applying queuing theory along with adequate mathematical models and simulations can greatly help improving your queue management system.

Conclusion

The queue management system is an integral part of a modern day service centers. Whether you are a small or large business your customer facing staff and channels should be equipped with the adequate technology and tools in order to make sure your customers have a satisfactory experience. The customer satisfaction is a key to long term success as it drives customer loyalty and help businesses sustain growth. Businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE are using digital queue management systems to improve their queuing processes. The modern day queue management systems are powered by AI (artificial intelligence) based algorithms which can dramatically improve the efficiency and performance of the queuing process. However, when it comes to implement a queue management system businesses often don’t have a clue of what type of queuing process they need and what features could help them achieve their desired goals. The purpose of this blog was to introduce our audience with the queuing theory, explaining the queuing theory without the mathematical models and calculation is a herculean task for the operation researches or experts.

In this blog we have tried to simplify the queuing theory to make it digestible for ordinary audience and help them leverage it to design or chose the right queue management system for their needs. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to design a highly effective tailor-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: Why the Custom Software Development is Good for Your Business?

February 14, 2023

Queue Management System Features you Need for Modern Queuing

The customer behavior, their needs and demands and the market conditions are always changing, businesses need to be more adoptive and pro-active in order to keep themselves up-to-date and competitive. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the markets are more competitive, the customers are also very savvy, and their demands are skyrocketing. The economy is continuously growing, the competition is rising day by day, and customers have a lot of options available to them. One bad experience and your customers will leave you for good. It is extremely crucial to maintain a healthy, strong and satisfactory relationship with your customers. The customer loyalty is one of the most precious asset for a business. This is why businesses are very eager to align themselves with their customers’ needs and demands. When it comes to a queue management system, the business leaders or CX (customer experience) managers can easily get overwhelmed with the sheer number of options available in the local market.

The effectiveness and impact of a queue management system depends on the system’s features and your needs. One doesn’t always fits all, but there are some universal features that can be very beneficial for all types and sizes of the businesses in the service sector.In this blog we will explore such features that can help all types and sizes of business to greatly improve customer experience and their queuing process.

What is Modern Queuing?

The queuing has come long way, traditionally the clipboard and pen based queuing was the way to manage the large footfall and crowded waiting areas. Later on businesses started realizing that they need to do more, this is when the technology starts coming in to the play and that was the time of inception of the modern queuing. The modern queuing methods that businesses are following in Dubai and all across the UAE are have evolved a lot. The technology itself have transformed a lot, now a days, the technology is widely available, the digital ecosystem and IT infrastructure of an average business is enough to support the modern queuing methods and practices. By definition the modern queuing is a queue management system based on the digital technology and software-based solutions. It helps automating several queuing steps and it can automatically manage customer routes and other major queuing tasks. With the help of digitalization and automation the business processes become very efficient and cost-effective too.

Features of a Modern Queue Management System

A modern queue management system is a software based application aided with several hardware devices. Usually there is a sign-up kiosk which allow customers to interact with the system, chose their required service, input data if needed, and dispense the ticket number. There are digital signage and large screens used to display the queuing information and audio announcement system is also considered to be an essential component of the modern queuing. Apart from that there are several administrative dashboards which let managers, head office and service agent interact with the system. The modern queuing system can also integrate with third-party tools, customer database, central information system and any other software to improve functionality and performance of the system. There are many benefits of a modern queue management system, some are more beneficial for some businesses than the others and so on. Here are the most useful features of a modern queue management system which are equally beneficial for all businesses.

Queue Management System Features: Digitalization and Automation

A modern queue management system converts the traditional manual queuing process into a more effective and efficient digital business process by leveraging the technology and AI (artificial intelligence) based software. The digitalization greatly improve the process and also capture valuable data which can be later utilized in various other processes. The digitalization also help automating several customer journey steps and improve customer flow. Due to digitalization and automation the human efforts are significantly reduced which means the business need much less resources to manage their queuing process. The modern queue management system works on smart algorithms which are capable to capturing data in from all touchpoints and various other details and enable queue management system to take real-time decisions to improve the queuing. Furthermore the modern queue management systems also provide self-service sing-up channels to the customers. Usually there is an interactive touch-screen self-service kiosk to sign-up the customer and dispense the tickets. But there are several other methods that can also be offered to customers to improve their experience, such as remote sign-up, mobile apps, online appointment booking, etc.

Queue Management System Features: Significant Reduction in Wait Time

The customer wait time is the single most impactful factor that can completely ruin your all efforts to attain customer satisfaction. According to several studies on an average a customer can wait for up to 5 to 9 minutes, this time limit is different for different industries, after that threshold the customer will start getting stressed and frustrated which will ruin their experience. That is why no matter what type of queue management system you use, the wait time should be minimized as much as possible. The digital queue management system used modern technology and AI based algorithms which enable them to minimize the customer wait time. When the customers sign-up for a queue, they are given a ticket number, the customer flow and movement of queues is fully autonomous, which eliminate any staff involvement in it. Furthermore the customers are allowed to wait comfortably in the designated spaces, hence not much management is required. The automation and no human involvement can significantly reduce the wait time. It also let the service agent focus on their primary tasks, which improve service delivery and make it quicker.

Furthermore the modern queue management system also help service agents in their tasks, which reduce their efforts and improve their focus on service delivery and other crucial tasks. A modern queuing need digitalization and automation, the electronic queue management systems help managing various other tasks for the staff which greatly improve the service quality and help reducing the service delivery time which eventually reduce the customer wait time. The electronic queue management system also capture valuable performance insight which help businesses further enhance the employee performance and reduce the customer wait time. The queue management system have capabilities to monitor the entire queuing process in real-time which enables it to take real-time decision and improve customer flow. For example, if a service counter is slow due to any reason, the queue management system can automatically redistribute the workload to ensure all counters work under a balanced workload, this also help reducing wait time and when employee work under balanced workload their efficiency also improves.

Queue Management System Features: Support for Virtual Queuing

Virtual queuing is not a new phenomenon. However, since the 2020 we have witnessed a huge rise in the adaptation of virtual queuing all across the country. The virtual queuing isthe most modern form of digital or electronic queue management systems. It takes the waiting time management to the next level, the methods and practices adopt by virtual queuing can literally reduce the wait time to none. Basically the virtual queuing offers more freedom and flexibility to the customers, it allow them to remotely sign-up for the queue by interacting with queue management system using digital media such as SMS, Email, WhatsApp, Mobile Apps, Website, Customer Portals, Appointment Booking Portals, QR Codes, etc. These channels allow the customer and visitors to remotely sign-up for the queue and receive queuing updates through the most convenient channel. This means they don’t have to be physically present at the premises, they will be singed-up in a virtual queue. This allow them freedom to wait anywhere they want to do whatever they want to do during that time. Furthermore they can also plan their visit in a way that they arrive at business only when their number is called. The virtual queuing minimize the wait time and improve customer experience by offering them more control, flexibility and freedom.

Queue Management System Features: Centralized Management

A digital or electronic queue management system is based on a queuing server application which is hosted online, in cloud or at a local in-premises datacenter. Which allow it to capture all the information and data in a centralized repository. This also help solving many management related problems and also offer more innovative features to improve the queuing process and to drive the efficiency. Usually business have multiple branches, regional offices, outlets, or customer service centers, and a single main location or head office. The head office is where the senior management resides, who want to monitor and control all connected branches. The queue management system offers a centralized management mechanisms where it provides head office staff full control over all the branches and share live queuing updates with the head office to improve the monitoring. The queue management system also allow businesses to configure desirable workflows and managerial hierarches to align the queuing process with their existing management structure. The head office and the managers with access can have full control and real-time information about the queuing which enable them to take quick actions to improve the customer flow and to solve the problems or handle the disruptions.

Queue Management System Features: Data Collection

The modern day businesses and marketplaces are heavily relying on information technology and the data is the lifeblood of information technology. A digital queue management system provides a great insight on your queuing process and performance. It can accurately capture footfall insight which help management identify various trends, such as peak hours, days, occasions, popular services, customer churn, etc. The electronic queue management system can also capture employee performance data and various KPIs, such as the average number of served customers in a shift, the active/inactive time, the time spend on a service delivery, etc. The queue management system can also capture customer feedback data either from on-site touchscreens or tablets, or from other channels such as WhatsaApp, Mobile Applications, SMS, email, etc. Any good digital queue management system also have in-built data analytical tools, which help managers to performance various analysis within seconds, and produce actionable reports. The queue management system can also integrate its data with the central information system or any other third-party tool and it also offer data sharing features which improve the control and monitoring capabilities of the management.

Conclusion

The customer happiness and customer satisfaction are the most crucial factor for the modern businesses, the market have already started transitioning from business oriented to customer oriented and that is because of rising competition and more demanding customer behavior. The queuing process is extremely important for the service sector. Businesses who failed to organize and manage their queues will loss the customers and eventually their reputation as well. That is why leveraging modern technologies to adopt to modern queuing has become an essential. A digital or electronic queue management system is a technology based solution for your queuing process. It streamlines customer flow and leverage the automation to improve the process and performance of the employees and customer service reps. The digital queue management system also provide a wealth of valuable business intelligence data which help businesses understand the customer experience and help them identify the areas of improvement to further increase customer satisfaction. In this blog we have listed the key features of a modern electronic queue management system, if you want to learn more or if you want our help to implement a custom-made highly cost-efficient digital 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: The Benefits of Electronic Queuing System

January 23, 2023January 23, 2023

How to Avoid Long Queues at Your Events

Dubai and in fact the entire UAE is a very vibrant and dynamic marketplace. The country is a center of all business activities in the region. Businesses and organizations are organizing several events, exhibitions, seminars and gatherings for networking, promotional and awareness purposes. It is very common to see long waiting lines outside these event venues, no attendee want to spend most of their time waiting in the long queues. This will ruin their experience, it will make them unhappy, and it will cause frustration. This led to unhappiness and also increase churn rate, which means that the longer the waiting time is more customers will abandoned the queues and will leave without attending the event. It also have other repercussions, such as it will annoy your visitors and customers, they will fail to participate or focus on the event at least for the first few minutes, in the worst case they will give you negative rating by any channel which is easily accessible to them. If you are collecting post-event feedback, you will get more negative comments and rating. Furthermore the unhappy visitors can also publish something over their social media and they can cause negative or bad publicity for you which could repel more people in attending your events in future and so on.

The negative impact of long waiting on customer experience is long lasting, it not only make your customers unhappy, but it will also impact your reputation and brand image. The first impression is always important, and if it is waiting for long time in crowded areas with very little or no clear indication of how long your customers and visitors might have to wait, is not a good first impression. Businesses often spend huge resources and money on many facilities they are offering but do very little about managing the queues. In this blog we will discuss how a fairly smaller investment in a modern queue management system can completely eliminate this problem.

Queue Management System for Events

A queue management system is a technological solution for a business’s queuing needs. There are a variety of different queue management systems available in the market, the best approach is to acquire a leading queue management system provider in Dubai, such as RSI Concepts and ask them to customize a queue management system according to your needs. There are ready-made solutions too, but they offer limited features and limited customization. Basically a queue management system is a combination of software and hardware components. The software is server side application with multiple clients who can interact with the system through intuitive UIs (user interfaces) and the hardware components vary from case to case. Different businesses have different requirement, for example if you are hosting an event for the first time, you might be needing self-service event registration kiosks, ticket/pass dispensing self-service interactive kiosks, digital signage, etc. If you already have self-service even registration kiosks, you might need only a few more or you can integrate your existing kiosks with the system. That is the beauty of the customized software and applications, they are very flexible to integrate with other technologies which save a lot of efforts and time too. These components will form a queue management system. In this blog we will discuss the key advantages and features of a queue management system that will help you managing your waiting lines for your events.

Improve Customer Flow Through Event Registration Process

The biggest problem at an event’s entrance is the crowd formation and the major causes of crowd formation are poor queuing management and delays at registration counters. Usually all event organizers encourage their customers to register prior to the event via online or email/call, etc. Which could prevent them of spending time at registration counters. However, the registration counters are always present because they are needed. A majority of the visitors would definitely failed to complete the registration beforehand, hence they would be needing registration counter. The manual registration counters are slower and cause several problems that is why most of the event organizers use interactive self-service registration kiosks. The self-service kiosks make the process quicker, eliminate the chances of errors, and improve customer experience. However, large footfall can cause congestion at those counters which passed on to the entrances and cause more queuing problems. A queue management system helps improving the registration process, you can directly integrate the registration forms within the queue management system or you can integrate a third-party registration management system with the queue management system.

Usually the registration area is also the same area where the entrances are, hence it could cause double problem, people can get lost or confused, the queues can tangled with each other and make situation more chaotic. A queue management system on the other hand can streamline customer flow by allowing customers and visitors to sign-up for the queue first, then they can register and then using the same ticket number they can enter the venue, the ticket number can be assigned with a QR code or Barcode which can automate the customer flow. Furthermore the digital signage help customers and visitors to keep track of their turn in the queues and guide them through the entire process. All this can be done fully autonomously without any help from the staff. This not only make process very efficient but it also help reducing the resource consumption of the process. The queue management system can automatically route the customers with integrated customer calling mechanisms through the digital signage and audio announcements. Each time a customer’s turn came they can go to the registration kiosk, scan their ticket and then fill in the form. The same ticket can be scanned on next steps to enter into the venue. This makes the process simple, automated and it significantly improve the customer flow.

Integrate Virtual Queuing Features to Improve Customer Experience

The virtual queuing is one of the most modern form of digital queue management systems. It offers multiple remote channels to sign-up for the queues, enable businesses to minimize the customer wait time which help improving customer experience. There are many way to offer virtual queuing features, mostly the virtual queuing involves the online and digital channels. The business can integrate the customer portals, mobile phone application, exclusive registration pages, and many more digital channels to offer more convenience and ease. The customers can sign-up easily from any of the available option. When they will sing-up for the queue and do the registration process, they will be issued a ticket number or token number. This e-ticket will contain the customers’/visitor’s number in the queue, and it will also provide a unique barcode or QR code which later serve as a gate pass for various steps.This also allow the visitors to utilize their smartphones or mobile devices to sign-up and register instead of waiting for the self-registration kiosks. The virtual queuing can be a great tool to minimize the wait time and manage the large influx at the entrances. Furthermore it can also help businesses to assign groups to different customers and visitors and let them enter as a group, in fact the entry could be individual but the customer call will call a range of the ticket numbers, which can also help speed up the process and reduce customer efforts and wait time.

Easily Manage Disruptions and Increase Customer Happiness

Interruptions, blockage or halted customer flow is a common thing in events with large venues. Especially when there is a sitting arrangements, the staff is deployed inside the venues to guide everyone to their seats and so on. All this requires time, in order to prevent congestion inside, sometimes the staff stop the visitors at the entrances, there could be other problems too, such as a dispute or disagreement, most of the time people lost their passes and they stuck at the security, sometimes the security searches cause disruptions, in short there could be so many things that can cause unexpected disruptions or delay in the customer flow. The queue management system have capabilities to prevent crowd by announcing messages, to inform people about the situation. The queue management system can also communicate with the customers and visitors who have used digital channels to sign-up for the queue. It is important to be transparent with your customers and visitors. Telling them the expected time to wait is not bad, it help them understand what is to be expected and prepare them for wait. However, the impact of these disruption can be reduced by rerouting customers to other entry points. The queue management system can do that automatically. The queue management system collects data form all touch points, it has AI (artificial intelligence) based smart algorithms which are capable to taking decisions in real time which can significantly reduce the impact of disruptions and help improving customer experience by rerouting them and providing them live updates at their most convenient communication channel.

Queue Management System Provides Business Intelligence Data which Improve Planning and Management

The queue management system provides in-depth business intelligence data. The data is collected from all touchpoints and also record historical system usage data which help the event organizing team to understand the customer behavior and flow and help them based their strategies upon concrete information and not on guessing work. The queue management system collects and store historical data from each and every touch point and throughout the customer journey. This data can help management understand the expected customer footfall and help them prepare themselves beforehand by allocating adequate resources and making plans for the registration and entrance areas which is the major cause of congestion and longer wait time. The queue management system provides in-built data analytical and processing tools which can help management identify the trends and predict accurately the number of expected attendees. Obviously as all other registration channels are integrated with the queue management system so it can also provide the number of people who have already been registered and by comparing this data with the historical data, it is easier to estimate the total number of expected customers and visitors at any event.

Furthermore there are always different types of customers and visitors, some are VIP or Premium Visitors, some are People with Special Needs, and some are different in many other ways, which require a different treatment and protocol.The managers can easily understand which type of user-group will show-up at what time with what numbers, and so on. This comparison will help management make a better policy and plan of actions for the event. In case of any interruption or delay the management can also view the live queuing data which can help them understand where and why the interruption happened, and help them resolving the problem more quickly. It also help them understand how many people are in queue, and how to divert them to other moving queues to minimize the impact of the interruption. The management can also alert people who are on their way or are present at the reception area with multiple communication tools and channels. Which help them improving the customer experience as well as reducing the frustration caused by such unplanned interruptions and delays.

Conclusion

Businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE are well aware of the importance of communication and engagement with their customers. Organizing and hosting events, exhibits, seminars, conferences and large meetings is a common theme for any business in the country. These events are used to promote brand and attract more customers. Whether you are B2B or a B2C business these events are vital for growth and brand image building. Apart from the benefits of hosting an event, the event organization and management is a double-edged sword for the organizing team. If anything goes wrong it could seriously damage the brand image and will hurt the reputation. There are several things and several moving parts which need highly proactive team to manage everything. The biggest challenge is always to handle the crowd and manage the queues. Every business tries to register attendees beforehand however, there would always be a large number of attendees who will register through on-site registration counters or interactive self-service registration kiosks. Furthermore usually as the start time comes closer the footfall start rising very quickly.

Therefore a proper digital queue management system is required to help the staff in managing the large footfall and solving the queuing problems. In this blog we have discussed how a smart digital queue management system can be used to improve your customer experience at events. If you want to know more about the subject or if you want our help to provide you with a highly cost-effective queue management system and self-registration solutions, 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: Must have features of Queue Management System

January 13, 2023

Must have features of Queue Management System

Businesses who deals with daily footfall understand the importance of waiting line management. In any given day there would be a time when the footfall would be very high, this time period is also known as peak hours, which would indicate the maximum footfall. It is those peak hours when the influx is high the crowd forms. The crowd formation lead to a nightmarish situation for the staff and the management. Managing large influx could be a very challenging task. For that business hire new staff, allocate more resources and might also adopt technological solutions. This also makes queuing very expensive. However, a business must have a queuing process to manage the waiting line and to organize the customers and visitors. Managing waiting line will help businesses to improve customer flow and reduce customer wait time. The queue management is also essential for customer experience. The customer experience is the most important part of any business’s strategy. It is extremely important to ensure a happy and satisfactory customer experience. A satisfied customers turns into loyal one and customer loyalty is essential for long term sustainable growth and profitability.

When it comes to queue management, the earliest form of queue management systems were just making line which were usually served as first come first served bases. Later on the clipboard and pen method was introduced all around the world, in fact many businesses from all around the world are still using this method. However, it turns out to be very inefficient, especially for the modern digital world the manual waiting line management is too outdated. That is when the digital queue management systems were introduced. The digital queue management systems have also evolved a lot over the past two decades. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the markets are slightly different, it is actually due to rapid growth, tougher competition and savvy customers with sky-high demands and expectations. This encouraged both businesses and vendors to come up with more advanced, innovative and efficient queue management systems. When you seek to acquire a queue management system in Dubai or anywhere in UAE you will find tons of options. One can easily get overwhelmed with the sheer number of designs and models advertised all over the market. That is why in this blog we will list all essential and important features of a queue management system that you must consider while acquiring a new queuing solution.

Important Features of a Queue Management System

Before we discuss the important features of a queue management system it is important to understand what a basic digital queue management system is. A digital queue management system consists of two parts, one is the software and the other is the hardware. The queuing process starts with the customer or visitor signing up for the queue via ticket dispensing self-service interactive kiosk and they system issued them a ticket containing their position in the queue and the estimated time to their turn. The system also have audio-visual announcement module which makes announcements at each customer calling and also provide basic queuing details at a large signage screen. When the customer’s number is called they reach to the designated counter, get served and leave. Some queue management system also provide a customer feedback collection module which request customers to submit feedback before leaving. Furthermore the queue management system automates several steps of the customer journey and have ability to collect valuable business intelligence data which help management analyze and improve relevant processes and work flows.

When a business decides to acquire a modern digital queue management system they can easily get overwhelmed with the sheer number of options and vendors available in the UAE. This could be confusing and very challenging for the management, here are the key features that you should consider while selecting a queue management system for your business to ensure maximum performance and impact.

Features of Queue Management System: 1. Essential Hardware Components

The queue management system is built on very effective and efficient technology platforms. There is no maximum limit of hardware component but there is a minimum limit. The queue management system technology is widely available and utilized hence it makes it easier to find a tons of hardware accessories which enable businesses to offer more innovative and convenient features. Here is a list of basic hardware componentsthat are essential to operate a digital queue management system:

Ticket Dispensing Unit or Ticket Dispensing Interactive Self-Service Kiosk
Digital Signage Screens and Displays
Announcement System
Counter Plates or Counter Displays

The quantity of the hardware depends on the size of the service center and other details. Such as if the waiting area is small then only 1 digital signage is fine, it waiting area is larger than we might need 2, furthermore if the digital signage is not visible from every part of waiting area then we will also require to install 2 of them and so on. Similarly the interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosk, counter plates and/or any other hardware quantity is determined.

Apart from essential hardware components there are several other factors that also cause businesses to have a different hardware configurations. There are several other hardware components and accessories that can also be installed. For example if you want to fetch the customer identification details at the sign-up process than you might require an Emirate ID Card Reader, an RFID or passport scanner, barcode reader, document scanner, etc. All those hardware accessories can be integrated with the interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosk. Similarly business could have different needs and processes hence they might need different types of hardware which they can integrate in the system to maximize its usability and functionality. Business also frequently use customer feedback collection for that they can integrate separate hardware devices in the system such as touch screen tablets, interactive kiosks, etc. The touch screen and tablets are usually used at the counters or near the service counters, the kiosks are usually placed at the exits or in easy-to-reach place where most of the customers and visitors can see them. These hardware can also be integrated with the queue management system if needed.

Features of Queue Management System:2. Essential Software Components

The queue management system software is the core application which process all the data, take instructions and perform the queuing tasks. The queue management system software is a server-side application which contains all the source codes, algorithms and processes required for the system. The core application can be accessed by multiple interfaces which are exclusively designed for different user groups.

Customer UI
Service Agent Dashboard
Administrative Dashboard

The customer user interface (UI) is accessible from the interactive self-service kiosk which is used for sign-up process and it also dispense the tickets. Furthermore the customers can be provided with additional features via this UI which are available. The service agents also got their dedicated dashboard which is designed for them. The service agent dashboard offer several useful options via an intuitive UI. The service agent’s dashboard is designed to help and facilitate several agent’s tasks such as pre-sale, post-sale tasks, customer calling, queuing information, customer rerouting features, etc. Then there is an administrative dashboard which is the back office of the system and is designed for the IT and the management. The management can get live queuing data, historical data, performance data, analytical tools, and features to manage the content, configurations and processes of the queue management system. These all are basic software components but businesses can have more features as per their needs.

Features of Queue Management System:3. Automated Customer Flow Management

The biggest advantage of a digital queue management system is that it helps automating the customer flow and improve customer experience by reducing customer wait time and improving the efficiency of the employees. However, many businesses doesn’t realize that this automation can be extremely useful if it also allow them to customize the processes as per their needs or situation. Usually a digital queue management system have basic configuration which allow businesses to implement their queuing policy and the smart algorithms automates the entire process. A good queue management system will also provide you customization features which will enable you to configure a lot many details of the process. It also gives businesses more control over their queuing policies and make it easier to implement a customized queuing policy. This also involved special need scenarios, for example at an event or occasion when you are expecting massive footfall you can implement an entirely different queuing policy for a limited time period and later resume to regular procedures. Similarly the queue management system software is based on AI (artificial intelligence) and smart algorithms which enables it to analyze queuing data in real-time and take decisions in real-time to reroute customers to ensure maximum efficiency and to optimize the wait time and performance. All such features are an indicator of a good high-performance queue management system.

Features of Queue Management System:4. Virtual Queuing

The virtual queuing is one of the modern form of queue management process. The virtual queuing gain huge popularity in Dubai and all around the UAE in past few years. Businesses and customers both are admiring it because of its great benefits and excellent efficiency. The virtual queuing involves integrating digital channels and remote mediums which allow customers and visitors to interact with the queue management system without being physically present at the business premises. That is the major difference between the traditional queue management systems and virtual queue management systems. Customers and visitors are allowed to sign-up for virtual queues using remote channels such as website, QR code, customer portals, mobile phone applications, SMS, Email, Call, etc. The customers are issued an e-ticket which contains their position in the queue and estimated time to their turn. This means that a customer or visitor can sign-up for the queue while sitting at their home or office. Then they can plan their travel accordingly to spend least time at the waiting areas. That is why the waiting time for the virtual queue management system is very short and in fact in some cases it is literally none. There are several other benefits of virtual queuing such as live queuing updates via website, customer portals, SMS, WhatsApp, mobile apps, etc. Alerts and notifications are also very useful and the customers and agents can communicate as well. In general the virtual queuing offers an excellent customer experience and much higher customer satisfaction than any traditional digital queue management system.

Features of Queue Management System:5. Third-Party System Integration

Whenever a business acquires a new software based solution they always consider the capabilities and limitations of the third-party integration feature. Similarly when you are acquiring a digital queue management system you should also make sure that it will offer adequate support for third-party system integration. The third-party system integration is basically a technological solution to enable two separate and standalone systems to communicate with each other. Both systems can share data and synchronize instructions to maximize the efficiency, performance and capabilities of the systems. The third-party system integration depends on the technology, programing techniques and the structure of the software. Some closed-source software doesn’t allow integration outside of their ecosystem which can be a great problem for system integration. Some technologies fully support third-party integration but are not compatible with the other systems. Hence it is important to understand your existing IT infrastructure and digital environment before deciding which queue management system you want to implement. With the help of system integration you can maximize the efficiency of the system and relevant processes, you can minimize repeated work and efforts required to perform a task and you can save time and resources of data conversion and manual upload. For example the integration of the queue management system with the customer database allow it to identify the customer, if you are also collecting customer feedback and it is integrated with your queuing system you can improve the response rate and data quality and the third-party system integration also help you facilitate service agent and maximize their work quality and efficiency. That is why the third-party system integration is a must to have feature for a queuing system.

Features of Queue Management System:6. Centralized Administration

For service sector it is common to have multiple offices, branches and service centers. This means that most of the businesses have one central location or head office where the most senior management resides and then they have several branches or regional offices. A good queue management system provide you great features to support a centralized management structure. The administrative dashboard comes with ability to allow creating multiple user groups with different access and administration authority which should align with your internal hierarchal structure. Such features will help you to integrate your work flows and management practices within the queue management process. Furthermore it will also allow head office and senior management to monitor and manage each and every connected branch. The system allow appointing a branch manager at each location, even one manager can have multiple locations as well and then there could be several other access levels such as assistants, supervisors, etc. The agents could also have different access and administration levels such as ordinary service agent, team lead, supervisor, and manager, etc. All these features will help businesses manage and monitor their queuing processes from head office and also help supporting the on-site staff and management in their tasks and activities.

Features of Queue Management System:7. Maintenance, Scalability and Customization

Most of the time when businesses acquire a new software solution they usually don’t pay much attention to the future scalability, maintenance, customization, upgrades, etc. However it is crucial to understand and agree with the vendor on these points. Most of the queue management systems in the market offers great support in all these areas however, the trickier part is that every vendor has its own payment and costing structure hence all these things could be very costly. There are two different types of software, one is COTS or commercial off-the-shelf software which are ready-to-use and are designed by a vendor or service provider according to the market standards. The up-scaling, customization and modifications could cost you a lot down the road which impact the overall ROI of the system. There is another type of software solution which is called customized software development, in that case the vendor design and develop a tailor-made queue management system solution exclusively for your business and you will get full ownership rights of the product. In that case all such costs can be eliminated or significantly reduced which improve your ROI over the time. No matter which system development approach you take it is important to clearly understand, define and agree upon all these aspects as in future you will be needing all those services. Any obstacle or difficulty could compromise your growth, progress and productivity as well.

Features of Queue Management System:8. Business Intelligence Data Gathering

In the present day and age the modern businesses are heavily relying on the data, in fact the most successful business strategies are completely data driven. Business decisions, policy making, strategies and product development functions heavily rely on the business intelligence data. The business intelligence data is basically the insight to your internal and external processes including employees, customers, communication, and much more. A good queue management system always capture valuable business intelligence data. It can capture system usage and analytical data from each and every customer touch-point throughout the customer journey. It monitor and evaluate the entire queuing process, customer journey, customer experience, happiness and overall efficiency of the queuing process. Furthermore the queue management system is also capable of monitoring several employee performance KPIs and it can integrate with other systems to further improve the quality of the business intelligence data. The customer feedback is one of the most important part of business intelligence data, a good queue management system offers you integrated customer feedback tools, or it can also provide in-built customer feedback management features which help you to gather feedback data long with other insights. A queue management system also provide in-built analytical tools and data sharing capabilities which allow managers to extract actionable reports and share data with stakeholders to address the problems and take actions for future improvements.

Conclusion

The Dubai and in fact the entire UAE is a very dynamic marketplace, the customer trends are changing rapidly the market competition is growing steadily and the technology is evolving on a rapid pace. All these factors need a business to adopt to the technologies and practices that can respond to the sudden changes and also support business growth. When it comes to the modern marketplace the businesses have started transitioning from a sales-oriented business model to a more customer-centric business model since more than a decade now. This transition was not sudden but gradually it have completely changed the way businesses were operating around a decade ago. For any customer-centric business the customers are its top priority, especially in highly competitive markets the businesses need to pay more attention to their customers’ needs, desires and interests. According to several studies and researches all around the globe, a modern day customer puts experience equal to the quality of the product or service they acquire from a business. These studies have also indicated that a majority of the customers are willing to pay extra if they are ensured that they will get a better experience. This makes customer experience one of the most important success factor. Businesses all around the UAE are actively seeking new methods, practices, technologies and solutions which can help them improve customer experience.

A queue management system is the solution to all major problems that a service-based business could face. It help businesses improve customer experience and it also increase their operational capabilities and performance. That is why a when it comes to acquire a new queue management system there is a lot on the stake. Businesses need to be very careful when selecting a new queue management system. However, in Dubai and all around the UAE the sheer number of vendors and different types of queue management systems can make it very confusing for a manager to decide which solution they should choose. That is why in this blog we have listed the basic details about the software and hardware of the queue management system along with several other features that can help you achieve your current goals and a good queue management system with all these features will make you able to deal with unexpected and uncertain future market conditions. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to design and develop a custom tailor-made and highly cost-efficient 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.

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January 11, 2023January 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, efficiency and productivity in the process.

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.

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December 23, 2022December 23, 2022

5 Ways to Manage your Customer Service Queues

Businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE are very active in adopting to modern solutions and leveraging technology to improve their operational performance. Tough competition and abundance of options available to customers can have huge impact over businesses’ approach and strategy. For service sector the biggest challenge is extended waiting time long customer service queues. Understanding the queues and the customers is absolutely crucial for a service-based business. The poorly managed queues and long wait time not only impact the customers but it also have huge impact on the employee performance. Which in return cause double effect and ruin customer experience. In today’s modern world, the customers will never have a second thought before moving to another service provider. Especially in Dubai or anywhere else in UAE where the customers usually have a lot of options available in the same area they will usually not give you a second chance. That is why managing queues and improving customer experience is crucial for a business’s success.

Regardless of industry, the long waiting time and customer service queues can have devastating effects on your repute and brand image, no matter how large or small your business is, no matter how cost-efficient your products/services are, if your customers are leaving unhappy, you can never sustain growth and success. The unhappy customers will talk to other people about their bad experience which will ruin your brand’s image, furthermore your marketing campaigns will become costly and the return will become smaller, which will rise the cost of onboarding a single customer. Eventually it could be catastrophic for your business. In this blog we will discuss how businesses can easily manage their queuing and reduce customer wait time using a smart queue management system solution. The queue management system will also help you improving your customers’ waiting experience and will help you improve your brand image and customer satisfaction. The queue management system have offers many perks which can help a business to monitor and improve the performance of their service centers.

1. Automate Customer Flow

The automation drives efficiency in any system. Similarly the automation of customer flow with a queue management system improve the queuing process and make it more efficient. Traditionally the customers wait in long waiting lines, which cause stress and several other problems. The customers tend to complain a lot about manual queues. The queue management system is a digital tool which can automate the customer flow by allowing them to use automated customer signup and flow processes. The customers can utilize the interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosk to sign-up. The interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosk can also collect basic information if needed such as what service the customer is interested in, or customer identification can be done at this stage, etc. Such information help the queue management system to implement the company policy and priority protocols if needed. Furthermore the queue management system sing-up the customers for a virtual queue, which means they don’t have to wait in physical customer service queues, in fact the can relax in the waiting areas and wait comfortably. This help improving customer experience and increase their satisfaction.

2. Reduce Customer Wait Time

The customer wait time is the single most important metric in the queuing systems. The customer wait time have significant impact on customer’s mind, experience and service quality. Longer wait time cause stress and frustration and also cause in increase in employee workload. The queue management system is based on an AI (artificial intelligence) based highly efficiency and smart software application which can collect business intelligence data and it is also capable of analyzing the data in real-time. This ability also allow the queue management software to take decisions in real-time which improve the customer experience and help reducing the average customer wait time which in return cause reduction in customer service queues. The queue management system can analyze the historic data of the system and it can accurately estimate the customer wait time. Which help it to take customer through the route where they have to wait less. The automation plays very well here, due to automation the employees are highly focused on the service delivery which expedite the customer flow and the highly managed queues help reducing the customer wait time.

The biggest problem with manual or poorly managed queues is the longer wait time. In traditional queuing management the customers will have to wait in the physical lines, which itself cause a lot of stress, furthermore there are line jumpers, and some customers who think other are prioritized by the staff and there are several other issues which cause frequent disputes. This require businesses to deploy more employees and it also keep the customer service agents engaged in non-productive activities such as managing the queues, answering to customers’ quires and solving disputes, etc. All this hustle slow down the customer flow, during the peak hours the staff can easily get overwhelmed which further deteriorate their efficiency and result in extended wait time for the customers which means longer customer service queues. The digital queue management system not only prevent all these problems but it also help speeding up customer flow and reducing wait time by automatically routing customers to the fastest path, reducing the customer stress and workload of the employee which also result in quicker service delivery.

3. Prioritize Different Customer Groups

Another important thing to consider while managing queues is to organize and arrange different customer groups on the bases of their priority. In any service center a business usually offers multiple services, furthermore the businesses also have different policies and protocols for different types of customers or customer groups. For example in the banking sector the corporate customers will have different services than the individual customers, same as the saving account is different from the current account, etc. All these different services and different customer groups need to be organized and treated differently, which can cause issues and disrupt customer flow. Therefore the queue management system software offers an intuitive administrative dashboard which allow the businesses to configure all these protocols and perimeters. Thus the queue management system can automatically segregate different audience groups and take them through their designated route. Furthermore there are customers with special needs, there could be a different process for the elderly customers, and the VIP or premium customers need different level of attention and services, all this can be managed automatically with the digital queue management system which definitely reduce customer wait time and improve their experience.

4. Improve Employee Efficiency

Employee efficiency plays crucial role in customer experience and customer flow. No matter how effective your queuing strategy is, if your employees are not working at a good efficiency then the customer experience and satisfaction goals can’t be achieved. There are several factors that impact employee performance, especially during the peak hours, when the customer influx is high, the poor queue management cause a lot of problems which keep the employee distracted from their primary tasks. The crowd formation and complaining customers can greatly reduce the efficiency of the employees. The digital queue management system can significantly boost the employee efficiency by reducing their efforts and automating several processes of the customer journey. Furthermore the queue management system can be integrated with internal databases and other enterprise tools which enables it to help service agents in pre-service and post-service activities to reduce their efforts. The queue management system can automatically reroute customers to less busy counters to maximize the customer flow and to balance the employee workload. It also keep track of various performance metrics and employee KPIs, which is also helpful in improving employee efficiency and productivity.

5. Virtual Queuing and Online Booking

The virtual queuing is another remarkable feature of a modern digital queue management system. The virtual queuing allows businesses to integrate several remote channels in their queuing processes and help them further reduce the customer wait time. In fact the virtual queuing can literally reduce the wait time to none. The virtual queuing allow customers to sign-up virtually via remote channels and mediums such as Email, SMS, Queue Management System Smartphone Apps, QR Code, Website, Customer Portals, WhatsApp, etc. All these channels offer freedom and flexibility to the customer which can greatly enhance customer experience. The virtual queuing allow customers to sign-up without physically being present at the business and allow them to arrive only when their turn came, hence they can get immediately served and they don’t have to wait. The online booking feature allow customers and visitors to utilize an online channel such as website, customer portal or queue management system mobile apps to book a time slot for their visit. It also provide them previous queuing data, current status and expected future footfall which help them to book the most suitable slot with less expectancy of delays. These features can greatly reduce the customer service queues and help improving customer experience.

Conclusion

The customer service queues can be a great challenge for service-based industry. The businesses who are in service industry they have to deal with queues at all customer facing channels, especially when it comes to customer service centers this challenge become a serious liability. Poor queue management or longer customer wait time can not only make your customers unhappy but it can completely ruin your business’s reputation and image. According to several studies the unhappy and unsatisfied customers are most likely to never return to the same business, on top of that the unhappy customers tend to share their bad experiences with other people which could be even more damaging to the business. That is why a great queuing strategy is needed. A queue management system is a very powerful tool it help businesses effectively implement their queuing strategy and it also help them to make changes in the processes. The queue management system can completely automate the customer journey, queuing process, customer routing, and customer flow which can greatly increase the efficiency and efficacy of the process.

Furthermore the queue management systems are a great source of collecting valuable business intelligence data. It can also help businesses significantly improving employee performance and improve the resource management of the business. In fact a queue management system can reduce the number of employees by half to handle same customer footfall. Which in itself is a very significant for long term strategy and profitability. RSI Concepts is a leading queue management system provider in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn anything about the subject or if you want our help to setup a highly cost-efficient and customized queue management system to boost the performance and quality of your service center, 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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December 21, 2022

Effective Ways to Manage Customers Queue and Service Delays

In the modern day and age the customer behavior have changed a lot, now a days customers tend to consider experience more important than ever before. In fact there are several studies and researches conducted all across the world which suggest that a majority of the customer is willing to pay extra if they are assured they will get a better experience. This customer behavior compelled businesses to seriously think about the ways they are offering services to the customers. The service industry in Dubai and all around the UAE is a very competitive market. There are so many options available to the customers which also lead to high market standards and high customer expectations. This means that the business will have to beat the competition as well as they will have to meet and exceed the customers’ expectations. The biggest challenge any business faces is long customer queues and unwanted service delays. These are the things that can ruin the customer experience and make them very unhappy.

Unhappy customers tend to stop doing business with the brand and on top of that such customers also share their negative experience with their friends, colleagues and in social media which could be extremely bad for a business reputation and brand image. According to several studies if a customer is happy with a business they tend to share their positive feedback to up to 9 persons, if they are unhappy they tend to tell up to 15. Which means you can lost 15 possible prospects and the damage done to the brand image is topping on the cake.Businesses often don’t realize the importance of words of mouth, most of the businesses think that is a thing of past, however, that is not the case, in fact in the modern day and age the word of mouth have become even more impact full, thanks to the social media and online channels, the impact of a positive or negative review/comment about the business can have much stronger impact on the business’s reputation than anticipated. That is why business adopt various modern technologies to improve their customer experience and to increase customer happiness. The queue management system is one of those and it is very helpful in dealing with the modern problems.

What is the Most Effective way to Manage Customer Queue and Service Delays?

The customer queues, service delays and long waiting times are not new problems, in fact in the present day these problems become a more difficult challenge. So, businesses are using several methods and strategies to deal with these problems in the past. We have all witnessed the incredible development in technology and communication in the past two decade. The businesses and organizations have also adopted to modernized IT infrastructure and implemented several technologies over the time. The service based industry was proven to be more innovative and creative. The service sector have introduced several new customer relationship management technologies in the past two decades. These technologies have completely transform the market. When it comes to queue management and customer experience at service centers, we have noticed that most of the business are still relying on relatively older technologies, or one can say the innovation and creativity was relatively slower in this particular area. However, things are changing rapidly and now more and more businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE are embracing modern technologies based solution for their queuing needs.

The digital queue management systems have completely taken over the market like a storm. We have witnessed very rapid adaptation all across the market in last decade and now businesses are more emphasizing on their queuing strategies. Because the queuing experience is the most influencing factor on overall customer experience at the branch and it can significantly impact the service delivery process and customer satisfaction. A digital queue management system have proven to be the most effective way to manage customer queues and to prevent unwanted service delays. It because its ability to automate several customer journey processes and useful features for service agents which also help them speed up the service delivery process. Furthermore a modern queue management system comes with various other features that increase customer engagement, reduce their waiting stress, and improve their experience. The digital queue management system also comes with a powerful software which can be integrated with other enterprise tools, systems and central information center which enable businesses to include several innovative features to improve the system efficiency and efficacy.

When it comes to acquiring a queue management system there are tons of different options available in the market which could make it very confusing for the managers and decision makers to choose the right queuing solution. Here are some features of a modern queue management system which will help you effectively managing customer queues and the service delays.

Features of Queue Management System

In Dubai and all around the UAE there are several companies who are offering queue management systems with different labels and branding. There are vendors who are also offering customized queue management system to meet your exclusive needs. No matter which solution or vendor you choose, here is a list of some most important features and advantages of a queue management system that you should consider while selecting a right queue management system for your business.

Features to Automate Customer Sign-Up Process

Traditionally the customer signup process is the first part of customer interaction at your service centers. It should be welcoming, simpler and shorter. A modern queue management system offers a variety of sign-up methods, the most commonly used methods is a use of interactive kiosk. This interactive kiosk dispense tickets and it can also capture basic information which help queue management system improve the customer flow. The queue management system sign-up customers and visitors for the virtual queues, which allow them to wait freely and comfortably in the wait areas, lobbies and anywhere they want, hence the customers and visitors don’t have to stand in physical lines. Since everyone get their ticket number there is no dispute or complaint by the customers. Everyone knows the customer flow is managed by the automated software system so no one complaint about staff favoritism, line jumpers, delays in their queues, etc. Furthermore the interactive ticket dispensing kiosk also allow businesses to integrate various software and hardware accessories to capture customer information such as Emirates ID card reader, passport scanner, Barcode/QR Code reader, RFID, etc. which makes it easier and more convenient for customers to provide their information.

Features to Increase Customer Engagement

Customer engagement is very important in order to improve their experience. The human brain works in a strange way, when we stressed, frustrated, unhappy, bored, or waiting the brain perceives the time is passing slower. This phenomenon is applicable to the customer waiting time at the service centers. When customers are waiting in the waiting area, there is not much activity and they are bound to sit there they tend to feel the wait time is longer, this is called the perceived wait time. The perceived wait time is always higher than the actual wait time in traditional waiting environments. However, a queue management system can help reducing it significantly. The queue management system collects historical data including both system usage and analytical data which enables it to estimate the wait time on the bases of historical and analytical data. The queue management system can print the estimated wait time on the ticket, which can be a great relief for the customers. As no knowledge of total wait time also add up to the customer’s stress.

Furthermore the queue management system also offer large displays or digital signage. These digital signage are used to display the queuing information. They show what is happening inside the branch and what are the active tickets and counters. It also make announcements of the upcoming ticket and their respective counter and it can also use to make announcements. The digital signage module is integrated within the queue management system as a simple add-on or in-built feature. It not only display the queuing information but it can also display multimedia content. The multimedia content can be adverts, information about the processes, company achievements or it can run media for entertainment. These digital signage are placed on strategic position to maximize the visibility for the customers and visitors in the waiting area, moreover more than one digital signage can be used if needed. There is multi-lingual audio announcement system which also keep distracting customers from the waiting and help reducing the stress of the waiting. These features increase customer engagement and make their waiting experience more comfortable and relaxing.

Features to Automatically Categorize Customers and Automatically Control Customer Flow

The customer categorization is an important part of any queuing environment. Businesses always have different policies for different user groups. For example, if take an example of a public office, there might be people coming with some disability, there might be expecting mothers, there might be senior citizens, there might be VIP customers or premium customers, etc. All these scenarios require different response and expect different experience from the organization. Furthermore a business offers a variety of services usually different counters offer different set of services for example, if we take an example of a bank account there is a counter which offer services to the individual customers, another is to offer services to corporate customers, maybe another counter for premium customers and so on. This requires the queue management system to be able to identify and categorize customers in different categories and groups. Which can be done easily by taking customer’s inputs during the sign-up process and the queue management system software can perfectly implement the queuing policy automatically.

Features to Support Popular Queuing Methods

Now a day’s all modern queue management systems support almost all queuing methods. There was a time when the vendors were designing different queue management system for different queuing methods, however, that is not the case. Now a day’s all modern queue management systems come with an administrative control panel which allow businesses to control every aspect of the queuing including the queuing methods. Here are some commonly used queuing methods:

FIFO: The FIFO stands for First in First out, this queuing method means that the customers who arrived first will be served first. The customers who arrived later will have to wait longer as per their turn based on their arrival.
Priority Queues: The priority queues are not for all industries usually these queuing models are used by special industries where the longer wait time could have negative impact such as healthcare, where the customers/patients are prioritized on the bases of the severity of their health condition.
SPT: The SPT stands for Shortest Processing Time, this method is usually used by the businesses who have different processing times for different customer needs. The queue management system automatically controls the customer flow to prevent crowd formation.
SIRO: The SIRO stands for Service in Random Order, in this method the customers are selected randomly from the queue. This method is not liked by most of the customers and it could cause additional problems for the service staff as well.

Different queuing methods are followed by different industry sectors. However, now a day’s businesses are using mixed or hybrid queuing methods as well. The queue management system allow businesses to configure the customer flow policies easily which allow them to implement a particular queuing method at any time as per the needs.

Features to Support Virtual Queuing

Virtual queuing is not a new form of queuing but it recently gain huge popularity all across the UAE. The biggest advantage of virtual queuing is that it can significantly reduce the wait time, in fact it can reduce it to literally none. This is because the customers are allowed to sign-up remotely. The customers are not required to be physically present at the business to sign-up for the queue. The virtual queuing offers a variety of very convenient channels to let customers and visitors sign-up for the queues and it issues them virtual tickets or e-tickets. The customers can sign-up remotely by using any supportive channel such as SMS, Call, Email, Online Booking, Website, Queue Management System Mobile Apps, WhatsApp, Customer Portals, QR Codes, etc. All these channels are easy to access and allow customers to plan their visit in a way that they arrived only when their turn comes. This way they don’t even have to spend any time in the waiting areas, they will instantly get served when they will arrive. Furthermore the virtual queuing also enable businesses to enable a direct communication channels between the service agent and the customer and it can provide live queuing information through the supportive channels along with reminders and alerts which can significantly enhance customer experience.

Features to Boost Employee Performance and Productivity

A queue management system itself is a great support for the employees and service agents. Manual queue management requires a lot of resources, it have several problems and it can keep both customers and employees stressed all the time. When queues are management manually the employees will have to spend a lot time and effort on unnecessary tasks such as regulating the queues, listening to customer’s complaints, resolving disputes, etc. Which keep them distracted from their primary tasks and reduce their performance and productivity. A queue management system manages all these things automatically thence the employees can focus on their primary tasks. Furthermore the queue management system also controls the customer flow automatically which ensures every employee works under a balanced workload which also improve employee performance and productivity. The queue management system can also support service agents in pre-service and post-service tasks which also help improving their performance. The queue management system can monitor and track various employee KPIs which help the management in resource management and training programs which eventually boost employee performance.

Features to Integrate with Third-Party Tools and Other Databases

This is one of the most important feature of a queue management system in the modern highly integrated business environments. The system integration ability allow queue management system to push or pull data from the connected system or database. Usually the queue management system is integrated with the customer database which help the businesses to identify the customers during the sign-up process and it also help businesses to capture the customer feedback after service delivery. The service agents will have to perform several pre-service and post-service tasks, which usually require them to pull information from certain data repositories and increase their readiness for the service delivery. A queue management system can also help if it is integrated with the relevant systems, similarly for the post-service activities the queue management system can save a lot of time and efforts which not only improve employee efficiency but it also help reducing the service delivery time and reduce service delays. The queue management system can also capture a wealth of analytical and performance data which can be synchronized with other enterprise tools and systems and help management in various decision making tasks.

Ability to Capture Valuable Business Intelligence Data

The modern business strategies are heavily relying on data inputs and feeds. A queue management system software is a very powerful tool, it can capture the analytical and system usage data from each and every step of the customer journey. Which help the management acquire a deeper understanding of the customer journey, it helps them identifying the bottlenecks and hurdles in the customer journey and provide them business intelligence data to take more informed decision to sort out those problems. A queue management system is not just a queuing management tool in fact it is a complete digital transformation package for a service center. The queue management system can also capture customer feedback with its in-built feedback tool or it can also be integrated with the third-party customer feedback systems. This allow businesses to capture more user information along with their feedback which can significantly improve the quality of the feedback data.

The queue management system also capture several employee KPIs and other performance data which help management in resource planning, designing employee development and training programs and can be used for other HR activities. The business intelligence data captured by a queue management system can be very helpful in decision making and strategy building processes. Furthermore the businesses can also evaluate the impact of the changes they made which is a great help. Businesses can also utilize this business intelligence data to improve various internal processes. A queue management system software is a server application which is deployed on a server either online or at cloud on at local network. This allow businesses to connect all branches and enable the main branch or head office to monitor and track the queuing processes from all connected branches in real-time. In a multi-branch scenario the businesses can also restrict the access of a branch data to its manager while the head office can receive all updates from all connected branches.

Low-cost Scalability and Maintenance

The queue management systems are digital solution consists of various software and hardware components. The hardware that is usually used within a queue management system is easily available in the market, which is why it is inexpensive and easy to maintain. In fact once a queue management system is deployed the hardware barely needs any maintenance or replacement for years. Which is why the maintenance is relatively low-cost. Low-cost maintenance also reduce the operational cost and results in a better ROI over the longer period of time. The queue management system software is a server side application with multiple dashboard such as User Interface, Agent Dashboard, Management Dashboard and Administrative control panel. Furthermore the software is deployed on a server hence doesn’t require much maintenance. If it is hosted online or at a cloud the server maintenance is the responsibility of the service provider which also reduce the maintenance cost. Furthermore the system can be easily expanded to multiple branches with relatively low licensing fees and cost of the additional hardware. All these features significantly prolong the lifecycle of a digital queue management system adding value to ROI.

Conclusion

For any service based business the long queues, crowd formation and service delays are inevitable. One time or another the business will have to face such problems. However the growing businesses and businesses with high influx these problems are more common. Any business would want to avoid such problems as they not only harm the customer experience but also the brand perception which is very bad for the long term growth and sustainability. That is why businesses always seek ways to introduce efficiency and productivity to their internal processes to maximize the performance. In order to solve the problems of having long queues and service delays a digital queue management system is the best solution. It help automating several customer journey steps, it manages the queues and customer flow automatically, it have in-built crowd prevention features, it help balancing the workload of the employees and significantly improve their efficiency and it simultaneously reduce the operational cost of a branch while improving the branch efficiency, productivity and customer experience. Which is why a digital queue management system is the best solution to solve queuing problems and to prevent service delays.

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 implementing a highly cost-efficient and effective queue management system at 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.

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