In this blog, we will talk about how to fix some commonly occurring problems that organizations face with a pre-installed Queue Management System or with a new installation in Dubai, UAE. Queue Management System in a service-based industry is a critical component in maintaining steady sales. As every business is different from others and the targeted customers are also different but in UAE the overall environment for the service base industries is fundamentally similar. The clients are expecting the highest level of service and they like to have a lesser service delivery time. This makes the Queue Management Systems (QMS) more important and crucial for sustaining the customers. No matter what industry or business you are doing, or what kind of services you are offering, if you have to deal with a queue then the customer flow and customer journey are very important for you and this is why we have selected some common problem that businesses usually face in UAE.
In this blog we will classify the problems in two categories:
- Queue Management System Customer Experience Problems
- Queue Management System Administrative Problems
1. Queue Management System Customer Experience Problems
The main objective of commissioning of a queue management system is to improve the customer experience and customer journey throughout the service delivery process. Customer happiness is very important for any service-based industry. Here are some common problems that organizations face with their queue management system in Dubai, UAE:
Estimated Queue Time
There is a popular theory that known wait time felt shorter than the unknown wait time. I personally also think like that. Sometime if the estimated time is there then we don’t over-estimate the queue time and it is easier to wait for let say 25 minutes rather than “unknown” time period. So, having estimated queue time showing on the screen could be very helpful especially when you have long queues.
In-Queue Marketing
In-Queue Marketing/Adverts is another most commonly occurring problem reported by the customers/visitors who are waiting in the queue. Most of the organisations run their promotional videos/content or adverts on the digital signage screen which is also used for the queue announcements. The mistake that organizations usually made is that they cover too much of the area of the screen with the adverts, which most of the people feel annoying as they want the queue to be more visible and readable. So, you should make your signage content areas smaller and the queue announcement area larger or clearly visible. Do not ever use two separate screens as the customer will not pay attention to the repeated adverts and will entirely focus on the announcements.
Pre-scheduled Visits and Virtual Queuing
Pre-scheduled visits of virtual queuing is a very popular feature that customers like and want to use whenever they can get a chance, especially if you are located in a mall, or you have other activities around your location which people can get engaged into. This eliminates the stress of waiting and the announcement can be made on their mobile phones. The best practice is to have push-notification as well as an SMS notification.
Audio-Visual Aid and Multilingual Announcements
As in UAE multiple nationalities are living together so to have a multilingual audio announcement is very helpful. People usually got confused if they are not familiar with the announcement language. Usually, the announcements are not clear or not enough loud to be heard in a busy waiting area. Try to use more speakers with less reasonable volume to cover more area and along with the audio announcements the token number should also flash on the signage screen(s) to avoid any confusion.
Read also: Can a Queue Management System Improve Customer Experience?
2. Queue Management System Administrative Problems
Now let us talk about some common queue management system administrative problems. Organizations not only have to deal with the issues related to customer satisfaction and happiness but there are some other administrative issues which are in fact important while administering a queue management system at your premises. Such as:
Maintaining the physical queue and customer flow
Usually, organizations use different types of stanchions to route the physical queue. Especially where a large number of customers/visitors coming there should be physical queue management in order to maintain the overall queue management system efficiency. Such things should be used efficiently and in such scenarios where a large sum of people has to stay in the queue then the best approach is to have a single queue multi-serve setup. This way everyone in the queue will have to wait for a similar amount of time and people will also remain calm by knowing that multiple counters is serving the very same queue in which they are standing.
Directional Signage for the Customer Flow
Directional signage for the customer flow is very important in case of large waiting areas or multi-story multi-area kind of service delivery systems. In such systems, the customers/visitors might have to visit multiple counters located in multiple locations in the vicinity to get the service delivered to them. So, digital or physical signage and direction indicators are very important to route the queue and to maintain a steady customer flow. This also reduces customer confusion and help to improve the customer journey.
Premium Counters of VIP Service
In case if you have premium counters or VIP service you should avoid clubbing such counters with the ordinary counters. The best approach is to set up both installations in a different location, with separate waiting areas. This also helps to maintain the high-quality customer experience for the VIP or Premium customers/visitors but it also eliminates the possibility of negative effects on the ordinary customers/visitors.
KPIs of the Queue Management System
Organizations usually don’t pay much attention to the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of the system but KPIs are very important in the evaluation of the overall system as well as the evaluation of the service delivery agents or staff. The software should be capable of tracking the performance of each service delivery agent as well as of the overall system.
Reporting and Statistical Analysis
Reporting and comprehensive statistical analysis are very important in order to take administrative decisions. The organizations should be able to retrieve the reports and statistical data from the queue management system as per their required protocols. This will also help in taking administrative decisions to improve the customer experience and customer journey.
Queue Management System Software and Integration
The queue management system software is the backbone of the system and has to be efficient enough to automate as much of the processes as much possible. There should be easy-to-operate back-office controls and policy deployment to keep everything up-to-date. The integration of the queue management system data with any other organizational systems and/or the ERP is also important for some organizations in order to lower the workload of the IT department and the branch staff.
Read also: Why should the bank think beyond queue management?
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed some basic issues and problems that organizations and their customers could face while utilizing any queue management system. It is very important to have an efficient and easy-to-use QMS system for both the customer and the staff. If you have any such problem in your existing queue management system of if you want to implement a new queue management system in your branch please feel free to get in touch with us for further guidance and consultancy. You can reach us through the below comment box or contact us through our Contact Us page.
Check this out: Appointment scheduling tips to improve customer experience