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Advancements of Queue Management System Expected in 2022

Advancements of Queue Management System

The queue management systems and queuing solutions are very effective and impactful on the customer journey and customer experience. Basically, technology is evolving rapidly. The very basic technology-based items that we used on daily basis such as computers, laptops, and smartphones, televisions, etc. are being replaced with newer more powerful, and better gadgets. Similarly, the other technologies are also evolving. The queue management systems are made with a very basic computing technology that is integrated with a variety of hardware to innovate advanced features and functionalities. The queue management system software tool is also a very powerful component of the solutions, mostly here in Dubai, UAE the queue management software is basically designed to be run on a server, then additional interfaces are provided for customers, agents/servers, and the administrations. The programming tools and technologies used to build such software programs are also evolving and upgrading. This provides a great advantage to the vendors and manufacturers to keep the cost acceptable and provide advanced features as well.

The year 2020 was the year of a complete transformation in the overall customer behavior, businesses and brands operating locally or internationally have never witnessed such a huge shift in such a short period of time. In the year 2021 the queue management system manufacturers and vendors are struggling really hard to meet the new requirements, the year 2022 will be the year of real progress and unprecedented advancements in the queue management system industry. The general public behavior and interaction have been changed completely. The customers demand and expect a lot from their brands and businesses. The market trends have been changed, as now we are more integrated with digital solutions than ever before. The adaptation and acceptance level for digital solutions and systems is at an all-time high. Businesses can experiment a lot with new and innovative digital solutions. The queue management systems are not different either. Here are the advancements of queue management system expected in 2022:

Virtual Queuing

Virtual Queuing

Virtual queuing is not a brand new feature, however, the way it is being utilized is a completely new concept. The main difference between virtual queuing and traditional queuing is that virtual queuing allows the users to virtually sign up for the queue. It means that the customers and visitors can sign up for the queue being away from the business. The virtual queuing sign-up can be done with various means, such as website, online customer portal, appointment booking module, call, SMS, email, etc. The virtual queuing is very helpful for the staff too. As the customers and visitors can sign-up without being physically present at the branch, so there is no chance of getting a crowd or a large number of customers inside the waiting areas. Which also requires additional staff for the management.

Virtual queuing is a great boost to the customer experience and customer journey. As the most annoying thing in any customer journey is waiting. If there is very less wait time the customers can plan to reach the branch at the very exact time of their turn. The customer calling and announcements can also be made using virtual methods/digital mediums. Which makes it even easier for the customers to monitor the queues. Virtual queue management systems are gaining popularity. More often businesses in Dubai and other emirates of UAE are asking for a traditional queue management system with virtual queuing features enabled so that whenever they want to switch to the virtual queuing mode they can do it easily.

Mobile Queuing

Mobile Queuing

If you are living in Dubai or any other part of UAE you must be aware of the usage of smartphone applications. Our society is heavily relying on mobile apps for various daily life gigs. Moreover, the government is also focusing on digitalization for the sake of convenience of the users and to make the services available instantly. There are tons of government services that residents are using via their smartphone applications. This makes society more welcoming for mobile-based solutions. The year 2022 will be the year of the smartphone revolution. I believe the UAE must be at the first place in the list of countries with the most internet access with almost its entire population have access to high-speed internet. This makes smartphone applications even more convenient and effective.

The mobile queuing or a smartphone application integrated with a queue management system is by default a virtual queuing. Mobile queuing is more useful than any other traditional queuing. The customers and visitors can sign-up for the queues from their smartphone applications. The real-time updates and queuing information can be viewed on smartphone applications. The customers can be informed by alerts and notifications. This saves a lot of time and provides a lot many other useful features. For example, the customers can easily search for the nearest branches, they can also lookup for the least busy branches near to them, they can navigate to those branches and much more.

Mobile queuing also provide businesses a direct and personalized communication channel. The business can ask the customers for their feedback after their visit via the queue management system smartphone applications. The customers can also plan and schedule their visits with an integrated appointment booking feature. The queue management system smartphone application also provides additional data which helps the customers to plan their visit such as the information of the busiest hours, days, or branches, etc. The branches which provide additional services or the list of the services, etc. And much more. There is literally no limit. Businesses can get more creative and innovative to improve customer journeys and customer experiences through smartphone applications.

Queue Management System Integration with Software and Hardware

Queue Management System Integration with Software and Hardware

That is obviously not a new trend but we are expecting the queue management system integration with software and hardware to get more intense. Currently, only a few basic software and hardware integrations are commonly used, such as the Emirates ID Card scanning or QR Codes. However, in the year 2022, we are expecting that businesses in Dubai, UAE will start relying on intense software and hardware integration with their queue management solutions. Businesses are always looking for methods and ways to maximize their customer’s experience while also focusing on minimizing the workload of their employees and resource consumptions. The integration is the solution for that.

The integration leads to automation, which not only improves efficiency and makes the process fast but it also increases profitability. Another most efficient way to achieve higher efficiencies is by using a centralized information system that is effectively integrated with all of the IT infrastructures to form up a communication grid. Whether it is a machine to machine communication or a human to human communication, the availability of information at the right time and at the right place is crucial. This is why we are expecting that in the year 2022 businesses will demand more interconnected solutions. This will allow them to not only improve customer experience and customer journey but will also enable them to boost their employee performance and to achieve more effective controls and administration.

The queue management system should be able to effectively manage customer journeys automatically, for that may be new hardware will be needed to enable the system to identify the customers, then the system can prioritize them, and route them to ensure quicker and quality service delivery. On the other hand, if the queue management system is connected to the customer database, it can automatically fetch the data and information required by an agent to serve the customer and to deliver the required service. This makes the process very fast and reduces the service delivery time as well. These are just examples, there is an endless list of software and hardware which can be integrated due to the technological advancements in the queue management system technology.

AI-based Queue Management System & IoT Integration

AI-based Queue Management System & IoT Integration

The AI stands for Artificial Intelligence and the IoT stands for Internet of Things. Both are very latest technologies and a few years ago was considered to be Hollywood stuff. Thanks to the chip advancements and R&D done in the past few years, the two have become a reality. And all technology solution providers are gazing their eyes on the two sectors. If Elon Musk’s future depiction of Artificial Intelligence turns out to be another false speculation, we will definitely witness all sectors of our life flooded with artificial intelligence-based solutions within a couple of years. Here I would also like to mention that artificial intelligence is not only the Terminator but in fact, it is just a highly advanced software with extremely sophisticated programming and currently, Google, Facebook, IG, and tons of platforms that we use daily are running on one or another kind of Artificial Intelligence. The smartphone before getting smart was just the phones, but with Android and iOS, the smartphone has become smart and is ever getting smarter. Similarly, the artificial intelligence integration will improve the queue management systems and each and every aspect.

The artificial intelligence-based software engines will help the businesses to manage and monitor their queues and relevant systems in a more organized and automated way, where most of the automatic decisions will be done through the artificial intelligence-based software engine, which will rely on machine learning and will keep improving itself over the time. This will not only help businesses in effectively managing the customer flow, but the real magic will be done at data capturing, monitoring, KPIs, and reporting sides. The artificial intelligence-based queue management system can provide extremely effective business intelligence and will be able to process various feeds more effectively. Which will make the decision-making even more effective and risk-free.

The IoT is a modern revolution of electronics. With the easy availability of high-speed networks, cloud, 4G/5G, broadband internet access the IoT is not only the future but developed countries like UAE have already started implementing IOT based solutions. The IoT allows various electronics devices to communicate with each other and with a management program that gives them instructions to act accordingly. You must be thinking how will this improve the queue management system? Well, the IoT devices will not only allow easy system installation process but remote monitoring and management of each node and connected device will be possible, such statistical data will be relayed to the AI-based software engine which will utilize it to make real-time decisions to improve the customer flow and much more.

Purpose Made Queue Management Systems

Purpose Made Queue Management Systems

The purpose-made queue management systems are not a new trend, however, these days almost more than 80 percent of the queue management system installation in Dubai and other parts of UAE are generic or general-purpose queue management systems. However, businesses are gaining awareness and are demanding more subjective solutions rather than general-purpose queue management solutions. This is why the year 2022 will be the year of purpose-made queue management systems. Each and every industry will prefer to opt for a purpose-made queue management system rather than altering or customizing and general-purpose queue management system to be able to achieve their desired results. The purpose-made queue management system once in the market will get improved very quickly as more data and studies will be available for the manufacturers and vendors.

The purpose-made queue management system trend will take over the traditional queue management system by the year 2022. And there is another big reason to believe in that which due to the different work processes and different customer journeys at different businesses. This will give rise to the demand for purpose-made queue management systems.

Read this: Pros and Cons of Queue Management System

Conclusion

The queue management system is a very powerful tool for customer journey transformation. It is considered to be essential for the modern customer journey. There has been several improvements and advancements in the queue management systems in past few years, but the way the customer journey and customer interaction with the brand have been transformed in the past few years, the queue management systems are going to take the customer journey to the next level in coming years. The year 2022 will be the year of great innovations in queue management systems. As the customer’s demands and expectations are also evolving at a very rapid pace, this will give rise to the integration of the queue management systems with AI and IoT. The businesses will look to improve the system efficiency and gain more control and better administration in the coming years. This is only possible if the AI and IoT work with the system integration of other organizations’ tools and IT infrastructure. RSI Concepts is a leading queue management system provider in Dubai, UAE. If you need an advanced queuing solution that can boost your work efficiency and improve customer loyalty do let us know. We are here to help, you can reach 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: How to Achieve the High ROI using Queue Management System


How to Achieve the High ROI using Queue Management System

How to Achieve the High ROI using Queue Management System

Achieving the high ROI results with a queue management system is comparatively easier, as the system itself is very capable. Here in Dubai and other parts of UAE businesses prioritize their customers, the markets are growing, every day the competition is increasing. Studies showed that around 90% of the customers are willing to go to another service provider rather waiting in the long queues. Every single minutes added to customer wait time could cost you potentially tens of hundreds of sales on daily bases. That is the reason businesses from all sectors in UAE are rapidly adopting to the digital queue management systems and queuing solutions. The customer experience and customer journey is extremely important. If a business is not using a queue management system to manage the daily customer flow, they will eventually end up losing a huge chunk of their sales.

That is the reason these days we can find queue management systems everywhere, from banks to government offices, schools to hospitals and clinics, food courts & restaurants to HR Offices, everywhere were we go we find a queue management system. This also results in a lot of vendor and supplier of the queuing solutions. However, there are only a few companies which are offering a great queue management system to ensure higher ROI results for you. RSI Concepts is a leading queue management system vendor and supplier, with exceptional range of different queue management systems. A queue management system in Dubai, UAE is considered to be a long term investment. When it comes to a queuing solution the businesses are concerned about the ROI, as it is a long term investment to calculating the ROI is also not as that simple.

In this blog we will focus on the features which can boost the profitability of a business and we will also explain a business can easily quantify the ROI of a queue management system.

How a business can increase profitability with a queue management system?

How a business can increase profitability with a queue management system?

A queue management system has a lot of benefits and it can improve a lot of areas related to the customer journey and customer experience. On top of that the queue management systems are also very helpful in improving subsequent business processes and policies. Here are some traits of a queue management system that help businesses in improving their profitability:

Reduce Wait Time

Reduce Wait Time

The wait time had different impact on different industries and sectors. But one thing is common, it always have a negative impact on customer journey and customer satisfaction, which results in decline in sales, in some cases this decline could be huge, it is an estimate that worldwide retail sector reported almost 70% of sales drop when the wait time is too long. With a queue management system businesses can avoid such losses, as the queue management system automatically manage and streamline customer flow, which reduces the wait time and improve customer experience. This help brands to retain more customers and improve customer loyalty and get repeated business. Which directly contributes to generating more revenue and profits.

Offer Virtual Queuing

Offer Virtual Queuing

The virtual queuing is the most modernized form of a queue management system. The main idea is to let the customers sign-up for the queues remotely/virtually. The customers can issue a mobile ticket or sign-up for the queue without being arriving at the branch. This allows them to wait outside, or utilize the wait time in some other activity, which in terms of customer journey results in literally no wait time. This not only improve the customer journey and customer satisfaction but it also help employee to improve their work efficiency and the overall productivity of the entire branch. Good quality customer journey makes your customers and visitors happy and satisfied. Happy customers give repeated business and also advocate for the brand.

Improve Employee Performance

Improve Employee Performance

In case of a manual queue management, the employees will have to do all the work manually. They will have to manage the queues, they will have to ensure the smooth customer flow, and they will have to handle the line disputes among the customers and much more. Which distracts them form their primary tasks and result in poor work efficiency. A queue management system eliminate all these problems and automatically handle the entire customer flow, which results in a very smooth and quicker customer journey. This allow the employees to focus only on their primary tasks, and they can easily serve more than twice customers in a single shift or even more. This allow the businesses to reduce the resources which help reducing the cost. And with the improved employee efficiency good quality work increase customer happiness. Which positively impact on the overall business growth.

Automate Customer Journey

Automate Customer Journey

A queue management system allows businesses to automatically manage all touch points and interactions of the entire customer journey. On one hand it saves a lot of time and makes the process fast, on the other hand it improves the customer experience as well. Especially for businesses who have stepped services which require multiple counters for a single service delivery. A queue management system also significantly improve the customer flow in scenarios where multiple services are being offered and certain counters are dedicated for certain services. The queue management system also help managing and routing the VIP or premium customers and the customers with special needs. This improve customer experience a lot and it portrays a very positive brand image. Which help attracting more customers and also good for customer retention. These factors directly impact the business growth and profitability.

Improve Service Quality

Improve Service Quality

The customer interaction with the business can heavily influence their service experience as well. If a customer or visitors had to wait for too long under mismanaged or poorly managed conditions, when they will reach to the counter they will be annoyed or upset. This will also impact their interaction with the service agent/server. If the customers and visitors got an excellent experience before reaching to the counter, they will be happy or at least they will not be angry or upset. This will make them more open and understanding towards the agent. Satisfying such customer is a lot easier than satisfying annoyed customers.

Moreover the queue management system also reduce the unwanted work load from the employees, which make them more efficient too. The employees will be highly focused and can deliver good quality service as well. The queue management system also have ability to route customers with different needs towards different counters. If agents are delivering only one or a few services, they could easily build expertise for that. Which also improve service quality and customer experience. Good quality services build good brand identity which help increasing conversion rates and customer retention and these all things contributes to business growth.

Improve Customer Retention

Improve Customer Retention

Customer happiness and good customer journey is a key to customer retention. If your customer are happy and satisfied they will remain loyal to your business. If they are unhappy they will immediately move to a competitor. The customer retention is extremely important for business growth. As if you keep focusing on marketing and other efforts to increase your new sales, but failed to retain the existing customers, then your overall profitability will decline. It totally depends upon the number of new customers coming to your brand and the number of customers who are leaving your brand. Eventually it will act like a death trap.

But if you manage to retain your existing customers, you will not only get repeated business from them but you will be able to keep adding more customers who will contribute in the growth of your business. A loyal customer base act as a foundation for a business, without that a business could crumble anytime. A queue management system ensures your customer leave happily and satisfied. Happy customers are tend to be the most loyal to the brand. They also promote the brand within their circles. Which attract more customers and build a strong brand identity. Brands with positive brand identity tends to have higher conversion rates from their marketing efforts comparing to the average brands or brands with poor brand image.

Improve Communication with Customers

Improve Communication with Customers

A queue management system with its advanced features enables direct communication between the customers/visitors and the brand. The customer interfaces can be designed with multi-lingual support to further improve the communication. Moreover the business can also collect customer feedback using the additional queue management system modules. Business can conduct online surveys and request for their opinion or suggestions. With the integrated smartphone applications or online customer portals, the businesses can enable a direct and personalized communication channel between them and their customers. The customer feedbacks and survey data can be utilized further to assess business practices and various other aspects of customer journey.

Collects Stats & Business Intelligence

Collects Stats & Business Intelligence

A queue management system is a great source of various types of valuable business intelligence data. It allow businesses to capture data from all touch point throughout the customer journey. The customer feedbacks also help evaluating various business processes, employees and customer experience. The queue management system has built-in KPIs (key performance indicators) to measure the performance of various active components, such as relevant systems, customer flow, and employee performance. The employee performance indicators help business to accurately quantify the performance of individual employees as well as of teams and branches. The management can easily take actions and make decisions to improve employee performance which will also help improving the service quality. The system usage stats and customer feedbacks help business in making policies and strategies to improve performance, products & services, and quality of service. Which will later help businesses in increasing sales and revenue.

How to Calculate the ROI of the Queue Management System

How to Calculate the ROI of the Queue Management System

As whenever a new system is acquired every business set their goals and objectives and then evaluate the system by various aspects such as system usability, utility, scalability, estimated outcome, cost, and other financial aspects. On the bases of these an overall ROI (return over investment) is calculated. Every system is eventually evaluated on the bases of its ROI. If the ROI is good the business can commission the system with confidence. If the ROI is not satisfactory then the business will be hesitant to invest in such system. For queue management systems the ROI calculation is very simple and easy.

Without a queue management system the business will have to allocate more employees to handle the customer flow, usually the employees are assigned by keeping in mind the busy hours and the regular foot fall. So, usually the most of the branches are either overstaffed or inefficiently staffed. This put a lot of expense on businesses. With the help of a queue management system the system take care of most of the intermediary processes and automate various steps of the customer journey, which entirely eliminate the need of additional staff. The customer flow and the entire queues are managed automatically by the queue management system, this also improve the work efficiency of the agents/servers. With the help and benefits of the queue management system the employee performance is also significantly improved, which make them able to serve more customers in a single shift. That is how the business can easily calculate how much agents/server or employees will be required to server a certain number of customers and visitors.

Another very accurate ROI can be the estimation of the cost per customer or per service delivery. This is also very easy to calculate. The businesses can easily calculate the service cost per customer before the queue management system and after the queue management system. All you need is the quantity of the customers they have served last year or more precisely the number of serving customers as it could also include the customers with the repeated service delivery. Then the cost on each service, and the value of the each service. Then the ROI can be calculated by including the queue management system into the equation and both results can be compared.

Other non-financial benefits are also there. The biggest benefit of a queue management system is that it significantly improve the customer journey and customer experience. Which exponentially increase the customer satisfaction score. The customer satisfaction score drives the opinion about the brand and help building a positive brand image. A good brand identity attracts more customers and also plays important role in conversion and lead generation through various marketing efforts. So, in longer run with or without the non-financial or non-quantifiable benefits of a queue management system the ROI is excellent.

Conclusion

Obviously whenever a business plans to acquire a new system or infrastructure the one thing that counts the most is the ROI (return over investment) rates. In case of a queue management system the ROI is always excellent. As any queuing solution comes with certain benefits such as reduction in wait time. The automation and functional improvement in business processes lead to an excellent customer experience and a smoother customer journey. The less work load on the employee lead to their performance improvement. With the help of a queue management system a single employee can handle more customer in a single shift. The cost and expenses can be reduced, the output can be maximized. Which significantly improve the ROI of a queue management system. At RSI Concepts we have a dedicated team of technical experts and business analysts who can help you with your queue management system project. You can easily reach us out 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: Pros and Cons of Queue Management System


Pros and Cons of Queue Management System

Pros and Cons of Queue Management System

A queue management system is considered to be a necessity these days. As almost all sorts of industries are adopting it in Dubai and other parts of the UAE. Do businesses most often think what are the pros and cons of a queue management system? The purpose of this blog is to provide a detailed overview of all the advantages and disadvantages or limitations of a queue management system. Generally, a digital queuing solution is very beneficial for a business. Any queue management system is used to achieve two primary objectives, one is customer satisfaction and the other is to improve employee performance. Customer satisfaction and improved employee efficiency are important for building a positive brand image that attracts more customers and also improves conversion rates. Businesses can easily achieve their goals and increase their profitability by simply implementing a queue management system.

Here are the pros and cons of a queue management system:

Pros of a Queue Management System

Pros of a Queue Management System

There are several pros of a queue management system, such as:

1. Efficient Customer Flow Management

Efficient Customer Flow Management

With the help of a queue management system businesses can easily manage and streamline their customer flow. The queues are well-organized, automatically controlled, no or very limited human intervention in managing the queues, no line jumpers, no disputes and troubles inside the waiting lines. The businesses had to keep a lot of staff to manually manage the queues and to cope with the problems occurring in manual lines. This was not causing troubles for the staff but such problems also affect the customer experience and delay in the customer journey. A queue management system can automatically manage all these things, there is no human intervention, so people don’t complain much about their positions in the queues, there are literally no disputes as everyone knows the lines are controlled by the computer program and not by a human being. This is why a queue management system can not only improve the customer experience and customer journey but it also reduces the workload on the employees, the business can manage massive queues with only a few staff members.

2. Reduced Wait Time

Reduced Wait Time

One of the biggest advantages of a queue management system is that it can significantly reduce the wait time of the customers and visitors. Several studies and various market researches have suggested that an ordinary customer or visitor can happily wait for 13 minutes, any time longer than that starts bothering them, if your customers get annoyed before even reaching the service counter, the chances are they will going to have an average or maybe bad experience with the agent too. No matter how hard the agent tries to satisfy them, if they had to wait for a long time, they will eventually end up leaving the premises unsatisfied and unhappy. So a reduction in wait time is extremely important to improve customer experience and customer journey. The queue management systems can easily reduce the wait time by a significant margin comparing to manual queuing.

3. Organize and Automate Customer Journey

Organize and Automate Customer Journey

A queue management system not only helps to reduce the wait time but also helps to organize and to automate various processes throughout the customer journey. Most businesses have various different services and different service delivery practices. Each business tries to make its customer journey unique, convenient, and easiest. All businesses have their own policies, priorities, and objectives. Some services are popular and some are not, some services require specially trained staff and so on. In some cases, a single service could take multiple counters to get the process done. All these situations make the customer journey complex and difficult to manage manually. However, with a queue management system businesses can program it as per their policies and the system will do the rest.

The queue management system can easily identify the required service during the signing-in process. Then it issues the ticket for the respective counter(s). The queue management system can also take the customers and visitors through the stepped service delivery process in which multiple counters are involved in a full-service delivery. The queue management system can also identify the priority customers and direct them to their dedicated counters. All this happens automatically and instantly. Moreover, the queuing systems can automatically reroute the customers to the vacant counters and to the counters with smaller queues. The management only has to configure the policy one time and the queue management system automates the process and handles the customer journey automatically. This not only makes the journey fast but also completely eliminates the errors and problems that are common in manual customer journey management.

4. Improve Employee Performance and Increase Service Quality

Improve Employee Performance and Increase Service Quality

Without a queue management system, the most of the employee’s efforts are consumed by managing the customers and visitors. However, with a queuing solution, the customer flow and many other things can be automated and managed by the system, which leaves very little work for the agents/server. The employees can focus more on their primary tasks. This boosts employee performance and makes them able to serve more customers in a single shift. Above all, each employee can easily focus on serving the customers so the service quality also improved and the customers get a better experience. This is how the queue management system helps businesses in improving their employee performance.

As the customer journey and various touchpoints are being managed by the queue management system, automation makes the processes simpler and quicker. It also reduces the workload of the employees and the employees focus more on serving the customers. Not only that, with the less wait time, automation and well-organized queue management the employee also got a good experience and when they reached to the counter they are not stressed or annoyed, this let the agent communicate well with the customers and visitors. Which also improves the service quality. The customers who are calm and happy are much easier to satisfy than the customers who reached the counter after hours of wait and going through a bad wait time experience.

5. Reduce Cost, Increase Customer Loyalty and Increase Profitability

Reduce Cost, Increase Customer Loyalty and Increase Profitability

A queue management system is far cheaper than having employees managing customer flow manually. The queuing solution also reduces the workload of the agents/server which means a single agent or server can serve more customers in a single day, which reduces the number of required agents/server and allow the business to cut the cost. Excellent customer journey management and great customer experience ensure customer satisfaction. A happy customer tends to be more loyal than an unhappy customer. Some of our customers have witnessed a huge rise in customer loyalty and returning customers after deploying a queue management system in Dubai, UAE. A happy customer will be more loyal to the brand. The customer loyalty help business to improve customer retention. And it directly impacts growth and revenue.

If a business has a stable foundation of loyal clientele, they can expect higher conversion rates too. Which ensures steady growth. The happy customers not only give repeated business but also help brands in building a positive brand identity. If a customer has a great queuing experience they will tell their friend, family, and colleagues, and become brand advocates which is great for brand image building. If a brand has a positive brand identity, it tends to attract more new customers and its marketing efforts also return good results only due to its positive image and good brand identity. A queue management system plays a vital role in improving customer happiness and customer satisfaction.

Cons of a Queue Management System

Cons of a Queue Management System

There are only a few cons of a queue management system, such as:

1. High Initial Investment

High Initial Investment

The initial investment is relatively higher. That is also a big reason why businesses are so skeptical when making a decision on a queue management system. As the queue management system contains several hardware components and several software features, which increases the project cost. It is usually the hardware that costs you more. There are multiple digital signage, interactive kiosk or ticket dispensing machines, customer announcement system, counter plates or counter displays, networks, etc. These all hardware components are just a bit expensive but are long-lasting and comes with a longer lifecycle and warrantees.

2. Regular Maintenance

Regular Maintenance

As there are so many hardware components involved so regular maintenance is mandatory. It is a common practice in Dubai and all over the UAE that whoever is acquiring a queue management system also sign-up for an annual maintenance contract. This also impacts the overall cost. Usually, regular maintenance is required to solve network-related problems or less often the ticket dispensing machine or interactive kiosk requires maintenance. It also requires regular paper role filling at which it prints tickets. That is why regular maintenance is required.

3. Local Hosting or Online Hosting /Cloud

Local Hosting or Online Hosting /Cloud

As the queue management system comes with queue management software too. Which has to be hosted on a server. Usually, businesses prefer to host the software in their on-premises data centers, which is costly and requires regular maintenance and management too. In the case of online hosting or cloud-based solutions, the business will have to sign-up for the annual maintenance services. Which also increases the overall cost of a queuing solution. Either way, additional cost, and regular maintenance are required.

4. Expensive Software System Integration

Expensive Software System Integration

Most of the time the queue management software integration with other corporate tools and enterprise solutions is not that costly. But in some cases where customization is required, the businesses might have to pay extra to all the parties involved. For example, if a particular feature is needed with the queue management system that requires integration with the ERP or Customer Loyalty Program, then either a middleware is built to synchronize both the systems or modifications are required at both ends. Either way, the business will have to bear additional costs for the system integration.

5. Limited & Expensive Hardware Customization/Upgrade

Limited & Expensive Hardware Customization/Upgrade

Although the software customization and upgrade is a bit less costly the hardware upgrade, customization or modification is a bit expensive. There are only a limited number of hardware devices that can be integrated into the system to build useful functionalities. For example, if your sign-up process needs the customer or visitor to scan their Emirates ID card, and later you realize that rather than Emirates ID card or even along with that you also need Facial Recognition. In order to build this feature, the interactive kiosk must have to be modified or customized. Once a kiosk design is built it is very hard to customize it, in most cases, the businesses end up buying altogether a new kiosk model. Which not only increases the cost but also wastes the older kiosks. That is why hardware customization and upgrades are difficult and expensive.

Conclusion

When we talk about the pros and cons of a queue management system we should think about the long-term return over the investments rather than just the initial cost and expense. A queue management system’s initial cost is a bit higher but in long term the benefits are staggering. With the improved customer experience and quicker customer journey with improved service quality and boosted employee performance, the business can achieve a great competitive edge over their competitors. So, I would suggest rather than considering the short-term expense the business should focus on the long-term goals and profitability that is only possible with a queue management system. The queue management system helps businesses in improving customer loyalty and customer retention, which leads to positive brand identity. The positive brand image attracts more customers and improves the conversion rates. So in longer terms, a queue management system can offer a great ROI. RSI Concepts is a leading Queue Management System brand, we offer very cost-effective customized queuing solutions. Feel free to reach us out through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch.

Check out this: Difference in Wired and Wireless Queue Management System


Difference in Wired and Wireless Queue Management System

Difference in Wired and Wireless Queue Management System

Queue Management System is a very important tool to manage customer experience and customer journey. In Dubai and all around the UAE the markets are very competitive, the customers are very conscious and demanding, if a business fails to satisfy their customers, they will immediately switch to a competitor. That is why the customer experience and customer journey is extremely important. The happy and satisfied customers are more loyal and likely to remain with the business for a long period of time. Such customers not only give repeated business but are also helpful in promoting positive brand identity and brand reputation. Brand reputation is a key to sustainability and growth. That is why businesses all around the world are investing heavily in solutions and systems to improve customer happiness by providing them a convenient customer journey and managing their experience with the help of various tools. The queue management system is the most powerful and most effective tool to improve customer happiness and customer experience.

Almost every business located in Dubai or any other part of the UAE that deals with customers on regular basis at their offices and branches should have a queue management system or a queuing solution. The queue management system automates various steps, streamlines customer flow, reduces wait time, improves employee performance, and provides a smooth customer experience. There are so many different queue management system vendors and suppliers working in Dubai, UAE. All of them are offering various different queuing solutions. This makes it a bit confusing for the clients, who are seeking a queue management system. There are several queuing solutions on the basis of features, functionality, and application, some of which are general purpose and some are purpose-made only for certain industries or applications. This is why we are writing this blog to help our customers and audiences easily choose the best solution for them. There are two major types of queue management systems on the basis of hardware, wired, and wireless queuing solutions.

Wired Queue Management System

Wired Queue Management System

The wired queue management system is the oldest form of a queuing solution. There are several applications of a wired queue management system. As the name suggests, the entire system and its all components are connected with wires. Earlier the queue systems were used only for managing queues. Nowadays a queue management system has transformed into a very powerful customer satisfaction management tool. Business can not only manage their queues but they can implement various company policies using a queue management system. Businesses can easily improve their methods and practices, automation and connectivity enable innovative solutions that provide a great competitive edge.

Wired Queue Management System Components

A basic wired queue management system consists of the following components:

  1. Ticket Dispensing Machine or Interactive Kiosk
  2. Digital Signage for Ticketing Information
  3. Announcement System (Audio + Visual)
  4. Counter Plates or Counter Screens
  5. Cabling and Network Devices
  6. Optional Accessories (Stanchions, Fixed Signs, Markers, etc.)
  7. Server-Side Software Application (Administrative Dashboard)
  8. Agent Terminal

These are the basic components of a wired queue management system. The software has to be hosted on a server, either online or offline. Mostly in Dubai and other parts of UAE businesses prefer to host the application on a local server.

Wired Queue Management System Customer Journey

The first interaction of a customer is with the ticket dispensing machine, where they can press a push-button or soft-touch button to print their ticket number. These days, mostly an interactive kiosk is used instead of a ticket dispensing machine. The kiosk comes with a medium-size touch screen that shows other important information too. The kiosk can also be configured with additional hardware accessories to further improve customer experience and customer journey.

The digital signage is placed in the waiting area, showing live feeds of queuing information and some multimedia content. The visual announcements are made on the same signage screens. The audio announcements are done through a connected set of audio systems. The audio announcements are usually multilingual. In the case of digital counter plates or counter displays, the ticket number is also displayed there to help customers in finding their counter.

Wired Queue Management System Applications

The wired queue management systems are suitable for almost all sorts of applications. However, for certain applications and scenarios the wired queue management system is the only choice. For example, in hospitals, where the wireless signal can interfere with medical devices and machinery. Or such facilities where wireless is not available. Or In such scenarios where there are too many wireless users such as malls, food courts, etc. where shared WiFi is used. In places such as airports, government departments, banks, etc. where security is a huge concern, we always recommend wired queue management systems.

Wireless Queue Management System

Wireless Queue Management System

The main reason for using a wireless queue management system is that it is easy to install and it is very cost-effective. It is very important to understand what your objectives with the queue management system are and what else you could do with it in the future? A queuing solution is a long-term investment and these systems are based on a very flexible technology that can easily be upgraded and improved. So, keep those things in mind too. Another big advantage of the wireless queue management system is that it is can be online or cloud-based. The software is designed in a way to uses minimum hardware and it may also allow the clients to use their existing hardware too, for example, tablets, iPads, or even smartphone applications can be built for the end-users (customers and visitors). The wireless queue management system is very cost-effective and it comes with modernized solutions and features that can be further customized easily over time to improve system efficiency.

Wireless Queue Management System Components

The wireless queue management system doesn’t have a long list of system components, although the process and operation are the same, the objectives and goals are the same, however, most of the hardware components can be replaced with software or businesses can repurpose their existing hardware, such as computers, tablets, etc. On top of that, all the hardware devices and various dashboards don’t require to connect via network lines or don’t have to be on the same local area network. This also enables businesses to move the components around with ease and comfort without bearing any additional cost so the businesses can easily rearrange various connected hardware or simply they can relocate them to a different area or even branch too. Here are some basic components of a wireless queue management system:

  1. Sign-up Mechanism
    1. Ticket Dispensing Kiosk

OR

  1. Virtual Sign-in (QR Code, Smartphone Apps, Call, Email, SMS, Online Appointment, etc.)
  1. Digital Signage for Ticketing Information
  2. Announcement System (Audio + Visual)
  3. Counter Plates or Counter Screens
  4. Online Administrative Dashboard
  5. Online Agent Terminal
  6. Optional Accessories (Stanchions, Fixed Signs, Markers, etc.)

These are the basic components of a wireless queue management system. In Dubai and all across the UAE business usually prefer online hosting or a cloud-based solution for the queue management system software. All the hardware devices are linked to that system via the internet, hence no need for cabling and network. This also reduces the cost and makes operation and maintenance easier. The online feature provides flexibility and convenience for both the management and the customers and visitors. Respective terminals, dashboards, and interfaces can be accessed online from any computer, tablet, or even smartphone.

Wireless Queue Management System Customer Journey

The wireless queue management system offers an even better customer journey and it also allows businesses to easily rearrange the hardware to further improve the customer journey. The facility to be able to sign-in wirelessly allows the customers and visitors to sign-up for the queues even before arriving at the branch. This significantly reduces the wait time, in fact, in some cases, the wait time can literally reduce to none. This improves the customer journey and customer experience. The customer journey starts with a sign-in process like any other traditional queue management system. Then the customers can be provided with live feeds and announcements on the digital signage placed inside the premises or either on their mobile devices or computers via customer portals or smartphone applications. The customer call is also done through all the above-mentioned mediums along with notifications in the smartphone, SMS alerts, and audio announcements inside the branch.

The customer portals, smartphone applications, and online appointment booking systems are designed to improve customer experience and customer journey. The customers can be provided with additional information to improve customer engagements and to make their waiting experience more pleasant. The customers can arrive at the counter when their ticket is called or when they got the alert or notification and then they can avail the service instantaneously. Later on, the customers can also be contacted to submit their feedback and share their suggestions via digital mediums. The wireless queue management system is also equally capable of capturing all the statistical data and business intelligence to further help businesses in improving their future strategies and policies.

Wireless Queue Management System Applications

The wireless queue management system can be used at any place where the traditional wired queue management system can be used. Although there are very few limitations, such as places and scenarios where the wireless connection is not possible or especially in hospitals and clinics where wireless signals can interfere with the medical equipment and life-saving machinery. Considering the usability, flexibility, and low cost, the wireless queue management systems are a much better choice than a wired queue management system in a regular customer support and service scenario.

The wireless queue management systems are ideal for businesses who want to upgrade, relocate, or temporarily installing a queue management system. Here in Dubai and other emirates of UAE certain businesses often require to set up temporary offices in remote locations, or have to set up off-campus offices for a temporary time period, mostly the events, fairs, and temporary offices at project sites, etc. for such requirements businesses prefer to acquire a queue management system on rental bases. For such scenarios a wireless queue management system is ideal. It is very cost-effective, the setup and relocation cost is very low, as all the devices are wireless, moving them to new locations is very easy. The businesses can use their in-stock hardware and once used they can easily decommission it. Or else the hardware used with the wireless queue management system can be stored in the storage until the next requirement. Either way, it is very cost-effective.

Conclusion

A queue management system is a basic necessity to be able to improve and manage the customer experience and customer journey. The modern-day queue management systems not only allow the businesses to improve their customer journey and branch efficiency but also provide valuable business intelligence which can further be utilized to improve business practices and products & services. There are several different types of queuing solutions available in the market in Dubai, UAE. The two major classifications are wired and wireless queue management systems. The wired queue management system is the traditional form of queuing solution, however, these days the wireless queue management systems are also gaining traction. Both are equally useful, in some cases, the wired queue management is the only choice, and in some cases, the wireless queue management system is the best option. The purpose of this blog was to give our audience and customers a brief understanding of the difference between wired and wireless queue management systems. If you are still not sure which type will suit you, do let us know through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will revert back to you soon. RSI Concepts is a leading queue management system provider in Dubai, UAE.

Check out this: List of 5 Prerequisites of Queuing System


List of 5 Prerequisites of Queuing System

A queuing system is a basic necessity these days. All of the businesses that are operating in Dubai or any other part of UAE are utilizing some kind of queuing system to manage their customers and visitors. Basically, the queuing system is used to streamline customer flow and to manage customer experience throughout the entire customer journey. Which makes it a very important business tool. The customer journey and customer happiness are crucial for success. If a brand has a strong base of happy and satisfied customers, it will gain a good reputation and a positive brand image. The happy and satisfied customers are also the most loyal customers. And customer loyalty plays a vital role in any business’s success. Loyal customers tend to do repeated business with the brand, which ensures steady growth. Another great advantage of happy and loyal customers is that they tend to promote the brand among their friends, family, and colleagues. This further improves the brand identity and portrays a very positive brand image. If a brand has a good reputation and a positive brand identity in the market it can gain more from less effort. Less marketing efforts tend to convert more leads if a brand has a very good brand identity and vice versa. That is why queuing systems are very important for a business.

List of 5 Prerequisites of Queuing System

The purpose of this blog is to aid our audience in making a queuing system decision. As in Dubai and all around the UAE there are so many different queuing system providers and a variety of different queue management system types are available, it could get confusing for most of the businesses while deciding the best queue management system and the best vendor for their project.

Here is a list of 5 prerequisites of the queuing system:

1. Define Objectives

Define Objectives

Like any other IT project or any general initiative, the very first thing we do is that we define objectives and expected outcomes. Similarly, with a queuing system, we also have to define the objectives and expectations from the system. In the case of a queue management system, the desired results are improved customer experience throughout the customer journey and customer satisfaction. There must be some research done beforehand and some stats are important to understand. For example, the customer churn rate and customers who leave without getting serve are two major issues in Dubai and all around the UAE.  The customer churn rate or the customer who never do business the second time is a big problem for business to sustain growth and the customers who signed up for the queue and then leave without getting served or without making a purchase are the even bigger problem and results in a variety of problems for a business. Several studies and surveys have shown that an average customer can wait up to a maximum of 13 to 14 minutes, wait time any longer than that could stress them out which results in a very bad customer experience.

In the above-mentioned scenario, the objective should be to reduce the customer churn rate and ensure all the customers reach the counter who signed up for the queue. Similarly, there are so many problems or scenarios a business could have faced in Dubai and all around the UAE. The objectives are defined to address a particular problem. There could be several objectives and any efficient solutions should be able to achieve several objectives. In the case of a queuing system, the primary objective is to improve the customer experience and employee performance to improve profitability. The secondary objective could be to collect vital business intelligence data to help businesses in making future decisions and policies. This is how objectives should be defined before acquiring any queuing system.

2. Understand How a Queuing System Works

Understand How a Queuing System Works

Once the objectives are defined the next step is to fully understand how a queuing system works, and how it can be utilized to achieve those objectives. As modern-day’s queue management systems and queuing solutions have lots of advanced features which are very helpful. As we all know the general behavior of everyone not only in UAE but all around the world has been changed, people are more adoptive towards digital and electronics solutions. The customer behavior has been completely changed. The customer’s expectations from a brand are completely changed. The ways businesses were interacting with customers and visitors prior to the pandemic have been changed completely. The year 2020 was a huge change in service-based industries and the year 2021 is the year when businesses are trying to keep up with the changing trends and customers’ needs by implementing new strategies and solutions.

Here is a list of basic components of a queuing system:

  1. Ticket Dispensing Kiosk Machine
  2. Digital Signage to display queuing information and to play multimedia content
  3. Counter Displays or Counter Plates
  4. Audio Announcement System
  5. Signs and stanchions to route the customer flow (mostly for large setup or stepped service delivery)

5 steps of queuing system

Here is a basic workflow or customer journey of a traditional queue management system or queuing system:

  1. Step 1. Customers and visitors signed up for the queue usually using a ticket dispensing kiosk
  2. Step 2. Customers and visitors wait in the queues or in the waiting areas
  3. Step 3. The agents or servers do the customer calling and make announcements
  4. Step 4. Customers and visitors arrived at the counter and get the service done
  5. Step 5. Customers and visitors leave the premises (in some cases they are being asked to submit their feedback before leaving)

That was the traditional customer journey with a traditional queuing system.

However, these days, when customers are more concerned about their health and safety, and wellbeing, businesses had to offer them some alternative methods to ensure social distancing and other regulations in place to build the confidence of their customers and visitors. This suddenly boosts the popularity of Virtual Queuing methods and techniques.

Here is a basic workflow or customer journey of a virtual queue management system or virtual queuing system:

  1. Step 1.Customers and visitors signed up for the queue remotely, without being present at the premises
  2. Step 2. The customers and visitors can wait outside, or at home or in a nearby store or even in the parking lot, whatever and wherever is convenient for them
  3. Step 3. The customer calling and announcements are made through both traditional and untraditional methods, such as via smartphone application, or a web page, or SMS or any other medium, usually multiple digital mediums are used to alert customers and visitors about their turn
  4. Step 4.Customers and visitors arrived at the counter and get the service done, usually, there is literally no or very little wait time inside the branch is witnessed
  5. Step 5. After getting the service done, the customers and visitors leave the brand, the customer feedback can be collected in both traditional and untraditional or digital ways too, such as via smartphone application surveys, or survey links, or emails, or SMS, or any other digital medium

The problem here is that most of the industries and businesses can easily adapt to the new modern-day virtual queuing but still there are many businesses that can’t. So, it is important that you understand how both queuing systems work. Then you can decide which system would be better for you as per your needs and objectives.

Furthermore, there are several other sub-sets or types of queue management systems that are available in the market. Some of them are general-purpose and some of them are purpose-builds for a specific industry. For example, the dedicated queue management system for the healthcare sector, or for the educational institutes, and so on. One of the best aspects of a queue management system or queuing system is that it can be customized as well. So, you can also choose features from various different types and merge them in a customized solution.

3. Understand your Environment

Understand your Environment

Once you established a basic understanding of queuing systems and their types the next step is to understand your environment where you will going to install a queue management system. Here are certain things that should be considered while analyzing your environment:

  • How many entrances are there?
  • How many counters are there?
  • What is the size of the waiting area?
  • What type of setup do you have? (Square/Rectangle, Round, or Irregular)
  • Do all customers and visitors in the waiting area face the same direction while sitting?
  • Is there any dedicated counter or VIP/Premium/Special counter?
  • Do you have any service which requires multiple counters? (Stepped Services)
  • In the case of stepped services, do all the counters are located in the same hall or your customers have to go to another hall or floor or something?

And things like that. This will not only help you identify the best queuing solution for you but this information will also help you to keep the cost at a minimum by acquiring only the needed components. For example, the facility size and type will decide how many ticker dispensing units and digital signage are required and what should be the quantity of the sound system to make the announcements, etc.

4. Plot your Environment in a Queuing System Scenario

Plot your Environment in a Queuing System Scenario

Once you have a better understanding of your environment and the customer journey. The next step is to put yourself in the place of your customers and visitors. Imagine the queue management system installed in your premises or just simply mimic it. There are certain things that you should understand, for example:

  • How convenient it is to go through the customer journey?
  • How easier it is for the arriving customers and visitors to spot a ticket dispensing kiosk and how convenient it is to reach it even in case of rush hours when the facility is operating at its maximum capacity?
  • Check the waiting area and see which locations or spots are more visible to place digital signage at?
  • If you would be a customer or visitor and your ticket number is called, how convenient it is to find your assigned counter anywhere from the waiting area?
  • Do you need extra signs and directions to direct the customers and visitors to certain counters?
  • Check the entire customer journey for all services and for all types of customers and visitors, for example, how better the customer journey is for premium customers?
  • Check everything is in both the regular and busiest hours’ scenarios.

And certain such things will help you build up the most efficient customer journey. Plotting various different scenarios will be very helpful. This way you can improve the customer journey to utilize the maximum potential of your premises. This will also help you to purchase only the required equipment.

Read More: Queue Management Challenges 2021

5. Analyze Customer Journey Improvements

Analyze Customer Journey Improvements

Once you have finished plotting a queuing system in your environment, then think from different users’ perspectives. Try to quantify how your queuing system could improve the customer journey. What benefits your customers can get from the new customer journey. Try to analyze each and every touchpoint and the complete user experience throughout the entire customer journey. This will help you further optimizing and improving the queuing system you are planning to avail. Think about what else can be included to further improve the customer journey? How various processes can be shortened? How the entire setup will improve your employees’ efficiency and productivity. Analyze the customer journey in various situations, such as peak hours, peak days, fewer customers, crowded, most popular services, and such things will help you analyze the system and how it can improve the customer journey by improving and automating various processes and steps of the service delivery.

Another thing to consider here is that how the queuing system is impacting your staff and agents. Definitely, any automation or solution is basically designed to improve the efficiency of the employee who is operating it, so does the queuing system too. The queuing system significantly reduces the workload of the agents and staff and improves their efficiency. More agents can serve more customers in a single shift. As most of the processes are either fully automated or semi-automated so the agents/servers can easily focus entirely on the customers. This enables them to improve the service quality as well. Which further improves the customer journey and customer experience.

Read More: 7 Features of Queue Management Software

Conclusion

Here in Dubai and all across the UAE, almost every business is utilizing one way or another to streamline their daily customer flow. The market is very competitive, if you fail to maintain a certain standard of customer experience and customer journey you will soon going to lose valuable customers. The queuing systems are an excellent tool to control, manage and improve customer experience throughout the entire customer journey. The queue management systems not only improve customer journey but they also aid staff and employee in improving their efficiency and work quality. The queuing system streamlines the customer flow, manages various aspects of the customer journey automatically, reduces the wait time, and speeds up the service delivery processes. This means less work for employees and agents/servers. The agents/servers can focus more on serving customers which significantly improves the customer experience. Happy customers always remain loyal to their brands and provide a strong foundation where a business can stand to make the next move up.

However, when it comes to choosing a good queuing system for your business there are so many options available. Especially in Dubai, UAE there are tons of different types of queue management systems, and a lot many vendors are also available to choose from. That is why it is critically important to be prepared before acquiring any queuing system. The purpose of listing 5 prerequisites of the queuing system was to help our audience and customers to choose the best option for them. If you follow these 5 key points, you can easily find a suitable and cost-effective queuing solution that can help you to generate more business over time. It is always better to consult a professional for such projects. RSI Concepts is a leading queuing system provider in Dubai, UAE with hundreds of satisfied customers. Feel free to reach out if you need any help with your next queuing system project or any customer satisfaction solutions. You can contact us through our Contact Us page or simply leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

Check out this: Revamp of E-Services Portal Development for Khorfakkan Municipality by RSI Concepts


Revamp of E-Services Portal Development for Khorfakkan Municipality by RSI Concepts

The Khorfakan City Municipality is the most important and most innovative government entity in the city, leading way for technological innovation and superior customer services. Since the day of its inception in the year 1970, the Khorfakan City Municipality or Khorfakan Municipality is eagerly working in transforming the lifestyle of the residents and also preserving nature and the environment. This is the reason the Khorfakan city and its natural beauty attract millions of people not only from the UAE but from all around the world. Especially the friendly environment, superior public services, and excellent infrastructures attract families and tourists to spend a great time in a beautiful natural environment. The Khorfakan municipality is also responsible for maintaining the environment by offering sustainable energy solutions and long-term planning. The department is continuously growing and making a healthy contribution to the progress of the emirate.

Revamp of E-Services Portal Development for Khorfakkan Municipality

The Khorfakan City Municipality always leads the way in innovative and convenient solutions for their customers and the residents of the city. This is the reason the Khorfakan City Municipality is offering a variety of digital services through its digital E-Service Portal and the website. As the digital platforms are continuously evolving and in order to keep everything up-to-date such platforms require regular updates and upgrades. In order to upgrade their customer experience and customer journey, the Khorfakan City Municipality has recently decided to enhance their customer experience and customer journey by upgrading their website and e-service portals. RSI Concepts was selected among many others, and the project was delivered as per the schedule. The website and the new portal has been released last Thursday.

The new website designed by RSI Concepts is built to enhance various aspects of online user interaction. The User Interface is designed to make the navigation easy and simpler. The website is far better in handling users from different devices and platforms, such as the responsiveness or mobile-friendliness is significantly enhanced with the help of cutting-edge technology and the latest programming tools. The web design itself is built as per modern trends. The entire user experience and user journey have been transformed to make the complex information structure more user-friendly. The E-Services Portal has been updated, the user experience and the entire services are completely revamped to ensure a superior user experience.

The website is more in-line and supportive of the objectives and policies of the Khorfakan City Municipality. The entire media section has been upgraded to improve communication and enable the user to easily access and reach the content they are looking for. The website and the E-Service Portal are now more convenient for Tenders and Biddings, along with customer/citizen complaints and suggestion modules. The overall Website and E-Service Portal is designed to reflect the brand and its ambitions. As these days the smartphone users have already surpassed the traditional desktop or laptop users, both the Website and the E-Service Portal are focused more on smartphone user experience. It is much easier to access online services and portals from smartphones than before. The Website and the E-Services Portal will surely go to help the Khorfakan City Municipality to achieve its goals.

Here are the remarks of our Project Manager, Mr. Shehzad Asghar who was in charge of the project execution and timely delivery:

“Designing and developing a website hosting data and information on such a large scale was not an easy task. Fortunately, our experience in designing and developing websites and e-services portals for government entities has paid off. We are also very thankful to the highly professional and very cooperative team at Khorfakan City Municipality who helped us in achieving the desired results as well as the timely project execution. We will look forward to having more future collaborations with Khorfakan City Municipality.”

Read More: Importance of Queue Management Software in 2021

At RSI Concepts we always focus on the objectives of our customers and such projects which have a very large scale impact on society are very important for us. Building a website and E-Services Portal for Khorfakan City Municipality which is meant to be utilized for thousands of residents and tourists was a great honor for us. We will look forward to more such opportunities that not only will help us improve our skills and experience but also let us a chance to be able to help the community.

Check out this: Queue System at Sharjah Children Reading Festival – كيو سيستم لمهرجان الشارقة القرائي للطفل


Importance of Queue Management Software in 2021

The year 2021 is bringing us completely changed trends and new innovative ideas to counter those unprecedented changes in the trends and customers’ behavior. The queue management software is also getting modernized to meet the present day’s needs. Customer happiness is extremely important for a business. If your customers are not happy, no matter how great your products are or how competitive your prices are, eventually you will going to lose it. It is crucial that your customers remain happy and loyal to your brand. Customer happiness is the only indicator that shows everything is in place, it really doesn’t matter how hard you worked around the operational details, or IT infrastructure or training for the employees, or marketing or whatsoever. If your customer is not happy, nothing will pay off. This is what the business has realized in Dubai and all around the UAE and in the past few years business, enterprises, banks, the retail sector, healthcare, and all other industries are investing heavily in customer happiness solutions and systems.

The queue management software is one of the most important components of customer happiness solutions. Basically, the queue management software provides great control and helps in managing customer experience throughout the entire customer journey. With the new features and latest advancements in queue management software and technology a more personalized and digitalized experience is easily possible. In the year 2021 everyone is hoping to get a bit more contact-less and digitalized experience from their brands. That is why the queue management system’s software has to be improved to meet the demands and trends of 2021.

The queue management system hardware is usually the same as all available queuing solutions in Dubai, UAE. However, the software of each vendor is different and that is where you can distinguish them. Here are some reasons why queue management software is critically important when making a decision of installing a queuing solution:

Queue Management Software Help Improving Brand Identity by Improving Customer Experience and Customer Journey

Queue Management Software Help Improving Brand Identity by Improving Customer Experience and Customer Journey

The most important factor that contributes to customer happiness is the wait time. If your customers will have to wait for a long time to get their service done, they will get repelled or they will start seeking other options. The wait time is the single most negative factor that can completely ruin a business and its reputation. Reputation and brand image are everything, if a brand has a positive reputation and a great brand identity, it will not only help it to score more leads, but it will also help the brand to improve customer loyalty and customer retention. Which is the basic necessity for growth. The positive brand identity also attracts more customers and visitors. It is also very helpful in improving conversion rates for the other marketing efforts.

Automatic customer flow management and queue management significantly reduce the wait time. It automates the process hence there is no human intervention, which prevents a lot many complaints and problems that businesses have to deal with without a queue management system. The queue management software is also capable of automatically handling the customer journey, it can effectively direct the customers to their designated counters, for example, there are multiple services and for each service, there are designated counters, the customers or visitors might get confused and try to join the queue which has the least number of people in it, however, with a queue management software when a customer opts for the queue the system automatically assign them the queue as per their required service.

The same is also applicable in complex scenarios such as in the case of stepped service delivery, where a full-service delivery is done through multiple counters. The queue management software is also capable of identifying the priority customers and lead them to the priority counters for example the premium customers, or VIP customers, or customers with special needs, etc. All can be automatically directed to their designated counters. The queue management software also automatically manages the customer flow by directing the next customer to the vacant counters. Other features such as counter forwarding or routing customers to the counters who are completely vacant also save a lot of time and improve customer experience.

The queue management software also comes with an in-built announcement system and digital signage. This module enables audio-visual announcements and customer calls. Along with that it also helps to improve the customer waiting time experience as well by playing multimedia and engaging content on the digital signage. A queue management software is an excellent tool to improve customer experience and customer journey in the year 2021 when the entire market trends are changed and businesses are facing new challenges day by day. Improved customer experience results in a very positive brand image and brand identity which help businesses in customer retention and increase customer loyalty which is a basic necessity for growth and profitability.

Virtual Queuing Improves Customer Experience

Virtual Queuing Improves Customer ExperienceThe year 2021 is the year of going contactless and digital. Virtual queuing is a very effective feature of queue management software. It allows both, the digitalized experience and the contactless features as well. Virtual queuing is gaining popularity these days. There are certain reasons for that, one of the biggest advantages of virtual queuing is that the queue management software enables the visitors to sign-up remotely. Or we can put it this way that the customers and visitors are able to sign-up for the physical queue without even being physically present at the branch. There are multiple mediums that are used to allow remote sign-up for virtual queuing. For example, the customers and visitors can sign-up remotely via the website, customer portals, smartphone applications, phone calls, email, or SMS.

The remote sign-up not only facilitates the customers but also helps the staff and administration. Customer flow management becomes easier as there are not too many people in the waiting room. The social distancing measures are easy to implement. Businesses and organizations can easily control the number of active queues to limit the number of customers and visitors inside the branch to prevent crowd forming and other related problems. Virtual queuing significantly improves the customer experience and customer journey as well. As the customer is not required to physically stand in the lines or stay in the waiting areas, so the service delivery is quicker comparing to traditional queuing methods.

Smartphone Applications to Increase Customer Engagements

Smartphone Applications to Increase Customer EngagementsThese days in Dubai and all across the UAE the smartphone applications are very popular. In the past few years, smartphones have gotten very smart and powerful too. Customers love personalized experience and business too, as personalized experience increases customer engagements and improves customer satisfaction. The UAE is the most modernized nation in the MENA region and also in Asia. The government’s policies and initiatives to promote digitalization played an important role in the market trend. There are tons of government services that are just a few taps on your smartphone screen away. The general public is very adoptive and friendly towards smartphone applications. This immediately caught the attention of the marketers and businesses immediately start offering smartphone-based interactions and services to improve customer happiness and satisfaction.

The smartphone application linked to the queue management system enables the business and organizations to offer a great customer experience. The smartphone apps with queue management software allow the user to enjoy simpler and easier virtual queuing. The smartphone apps also provide a direct communication channel to provide an even more improved and personalized experience. The users can also avail themselves of so many services using smartphone applications, such as virtual queuing, customer feedback, complaints, appointments, etc. Smartphone applications when integrated with a queue management system software can do wonders in terms of customer experience and customer happiness.

Online Appointment Module to Improve Customer Journey

Online Appointment Module to Improve Customer JourneyThe modern-day queue management system software comes with an integrated online appointment booking module too. The appointment booking module is linked with multiple internal systems to build the customer experience. For example, the customer portals are linked with the online appointment booking modules, the online booking portal can be provided within the customer portals as well as on the website via a dedicated page or link. Usually, the appointment booking module is offered as a stand-alone tool via a website link, to allow the customers and visitors to book an appointment without logging in to their respective portals. In Dubai, UAE mostly we used open links, that don’t require login or sign in, instead, the visitors or customers can fill in basic information to book an appointment. Whether signed in or not both methods are equally effective.

Another great advantage of the online appointment booking module is that it provides all the details and information that are required by a customer or visitor to book an appointment, for example, the busiest days, hours, or least busy hours or days, etc. The appointment booking module of queue management software also provides real-time queuing information and data from several branches. It can also suggest the best option which ensures the quickest service delivery and so on and so forth. The queue management software with an appointment booking module is very helpful in maintaining social distancing and customer flow to further improve the customer journey.

Customer Feedback and Surveys Help Understanding Customer’s Needs

Customer Feedback and Surveys Help Understanding Customer’s NeedsThe year 2021 has completely different challenges and required a completely new approach to meet the demand and expectations of the customers. Another remarkable feature of a queue management system software is the ability to understand customer’s needs, demands, expectations, and ongoing market trends via customer feedback and survey module. These days in Dubai and all around the UAE most of the queue management systems provide in-built customer survey and feedback modules. The purpose of this module is to understand how customers and visitors are perceiving your brand’s efforts to improve their experience and journey. The customer feedback and survey module can provide direct feedback from the customers and visitors.

There are several ways to utilize this module, the best method is on-sight customer feedback and surveys and online or follow-up surveys. Usually business has placed touch screens or tablets and kiosk to collect customer feedback, as the queue management software is already linked to the internal information center so identifying the customer who is submitting feedback is very easy, the system can map the information of the customer who has been served on the counter along with their ticket number and then it also identifies the service and compile the feedback report. Such information is vital for a business to make future policies and strategies and to take vital actions to improve customer experience and customer journey, it also provides businesses a direct measurement of the efficiency of their current strategy and business practices. Such business intelligence is very helpful in keeping up with the needs, expectations, and demands of your customers to improve customer happiness and loyalty.

Increase Employee Performance and Profitability

Increase Employee Performance and ProfitabilityA queue management software is very helpful in improving employee’s performance and overall productivity which results in greater profitability and improved resource management. Without a queue management system, most of the employee’s efforts are wasted on managing the customers and visitors manually, but with a queue management system and software, all tasks are managed automatically. The employees don’t have to worry about the queues or managing crowd or any such problem. The customers will not go to have many complaints as they will know that the queue is managed by an automatic system and the system treats everyone equally.

Now when all those time-consuming tasks will be managed by intelligent queue management software, the employees will have less stress, they will be happy and satisfied, they will be able to serve more customers in a single shift and their performance will increase automatically. Another great advantage of queue management software is that it has the capability to fully automate or partially automate various customer journey steps and processes which also reduces the workload of the employees. The automation allows the employees to focus more on their primary tasks which improve the service quality as well.

When various business processes and customer journeys will be automatic then the businesses will require very little human resources to manage the operations. The dedicated employee dashboard or agent interface will boost the employee performance as well, which means fewer agents/servers will be required to manage the same number of customers and visitors, so the businesses can either serve more customers in a day or can reduce the number of staff if the number of customers or visitors remains same, in both cases the cost is reduced and the profit is increased. A queue management system software is also very effective in improving customer retention, employee performance, and overall profitability.

Reporting, Integration with Other Systems and Centralized Management

Reporting, Integration with Other Systems and Centralized ManagementA queue management software is critically important for growth as it provides a great source of very vital business intelligence. The business intelligence includes direct customer feedbacks, KPIs or key performance indicators, system usage stats, and various other information. This information is stored in the queue management software database, which is being processed by the in-built analytical engine and then compiled up in actionable reports which are available for the management. All the data is captured and updated in real-time and is processed immediately. This boosts the performance of the system as well. The reporting module and business intelligence data are very important for businesses to understand the customer’s behavior, employee’s performance, the effectiveness of their methods and policies, and much more. This data also helps businesses to make strategies for the future and do improvements in their methodologies, processes, and the quality of the service.

The queue management software is also very important as it can act as a bridge between multiple business and enterprise solutions and tools. It can easily be linked with various other data pools via secure web services or APIs. This system integration enables businesses to easily share data and information between various systems and it also makes the administration very simpler and easier. Another very important feature of the queue management software is centralized management or remote management, which enables the head office to manage all connected branches remotely from the head office. The head office can have full access to everything and they can also assign local, regional, or branch managers to provide them limited access to the branch or branches and areas under their supervision. This is a great feature for the corporate management to easily manage and monitor their entire operation from the head office.

Conclusion

A queue management software is critically important for a business in 2021 that is operating in Dubai or any other region of UAE. As we all know the year 2020 has completely transformed the landscape of the service-based industries so businesses and organizations are anxiously seeking ways to improve their customer experience and customer journey. The customer experience and customer journey help businesses to improve customer loyalty and customer retention. Which results in a good brand reputation and a positive brand image. The brand identity helps businesses to attract more customers and visitors, and it is also very helpful in increasing the conversion rates of all the marketing activities. A queue management software is at the foundation of all this, in fact, it is the foundation. Your entire future depends on how you are treating your customers today. A queue management software is the only tool that can help you improving your customer’s experience and the customer journey to improve customer happiness and customer satisfaction.

The queue management software also automates various business processes. It is capable of integrating with other enterprise tools and solutions which further enables the businesses to create innovative ways to improve their customer’s journey and experience. An efficient queue management software can provide you a great competitive edge which will ensure better customer retention and customer loyalty. Loyal customers are the most precious asset of a business. Especially in the year 2021 when the demands and the behavior of the customers are changing very quickly and the competition is getting tougher day by day a queue management system and software can be your strongest arsenal. RSI Concepts is a leading queue management system provider in Dubai, UAE. If you want to install a new queue management system or want to replace your outdated queue management software, feel free to reach us out 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: 7 Features of Queue Management Software


7 Features of Queue Management Software

A queue management system (QMS) consists of two major parts, a hardware section, and a software section. Both the queue management system software and hardware have different components and accessories. These components, accessories, and modules are used to build certain features in the system. These days in Dubai and all around the UAE the more modernized and customized queue management systems are being used. The primary objectives of the queuing solution are to manage the customer flow, improve customer experience and increase productivity. There are so many different types of queue management systems available in Dubai, UAE which could be very confusing for the business. This begs the question of which queue management system will suit you or how to distinguish between a good or bad or an average quality system? There are certain markers or features that a good queue management system software should have in general, if all those features are there then you can easily decide if it will suit you or not.

You must be thinking that there is hardware involved too so why we are only talking about the software, the only reason is that the hardware itself is nothing without the software, if the software is offering a certain feature then by default the hardware will come along. That is why we are focusing only on the software features. There are certain queue management systems that are purpose-built or dedicated to a certain industry or application only, even for those types of queuing solutions the queue management system software must have certain traits which will determine the effectiveness and productivity of the queuing solution.

Here are 7 features of queue management software that you should look for when acquiring a new queue management system:

1. Virtual Queuing

Virtual Queuing

A virtual queue management system is the modern day’s need. Since the year 2020 has completely transformed the customer experience and customer expectations too, the year 2021 is the year of more digitalized and personalized customer journey and customer experience. The social distancing and health and safety of the visitors and the staff is the top priority for any business these days. The virtual queuing module will help businesses to easily maintain and manage the active queues as per their capacity to ensure social distancing. Virtual queuing is not just for implementing social distancing but it is also offering a great digital experience.

The customers and visitors are allowed to sign-up even before arriving at the branch. This requires more efficient software that is linked with various other systems and tools to allow the customers to sign-up through different channels such as smartphone applications, SMS, calls, QR codes, etc. The virtual queue management system not only facilitates the customers and visitors but also reduces or literally eliminates the wait time. The customers can arrive at the very exact time of their turn and get the service done. That is a huge leap in terms of customer experience, from waiting for hours to waiting for a few minutes or even no wait can make your customers extremely happy. Various different market researches and studies showed that the average acceptable waiting time for an ordinary customer or visitors is thirteen minutes, any time later than that could harm the customer experience.

2. Separate Dashboards

Separate Dashboards

Any good queue management system should have separate user dashboards with dedicated interfaces to increase efficiency. This feature also makes the administration easier and more managed. There are usually three main interfaces or dashboards in a queue management system:

  • Customer Interface
  • Agent Interface
  • Admin Interface

The customer interface is always separate from the other two. In Dubai and all around the UAE the traditional queue management systems usually provide an interactive kiosk-based customer interface. The customers and visitors can sign-up for the queue and get a ticket or token issued bearing their queue number and some other information.

The agent dashboard is usually a web-based dashboard. This dashboard provides the basic controlling and monitoring of the current queues and their statuses along with the facility of customer calling and managing the customer flow. Sometimes the admin dashboard is also used for the same purpose, but mostly the agent or server dashboard is kept separate.

The admin interface or administrative console is also a web-based control panel. This not only provides administrative control over the entire branch or overall connected branches but also provides data analysis and reporting features too. The management can add multiple levels of administrative roles or job roles with respective authority and data access policies to establish an administrative hierarchy.

3. Remote Management and Real-time Monitoring

Remote Management and Real-time MonitoringWhether you are implementing the queue management system in a single branch or office or you don’t even have another branch at all, remote management and real-time monitoring are must-have features for any good queue management system. The remote management will let the managers and the higher management manage the queuing system and handling some other system administrative tasks while they are not sitting inside the branch or office. The real-time monitoring is also providing real-time system updates and live information about the ongoing customer flow and other queuing data.

However, if your business has multiple branches and is located in multiple cities the remote management and real-time monitoring becomes very handy. For example, your head office is located in Dubai, and you are a manager who is responsible for the customer experience and customer flow. You must need a system to get the updates and monitoring features so you don’t have to call or contact the branch manager to get the required info regarding the customer flow and customer experience.

The remote monitoring and real-time updates are achieved by linking all the branches and locations to the main location or head office. The queue management software has a server-side application that can be hosted locally or online. The administrative dashboard and interface allow the higher management to get access to the data and information of any branch, and on top of that, all the queuing information and statistical data have been updated regularly. This makes a queue management system a great tool to monitor and control the customer journey and customer experience at all branches without even going there or following the long manual workflow and internal processes.

4. Customer Feedback System

Customer Feedback SystemAs the primary objective of a queue management system is to improve the customer journey and customer experience. Despite investing a lot and making a lot of efforts how would a business know if their efforts are in the right direction or not? The simplest answer is to ask directly to the customers and the best way to do it is via a customer feedback system or via a customer happiness scale. The customer happiness scale or customer feedback system is used to collecting customer feedback and is usually placed at the very last step of the service delivery so when the customer got everything done, they should be asked to share their opinions.

A good modern-day queue management system must have an in-built customer feedback system or a customer feedback module. In some cases, the external customer feedback systems are also linked to the queue management systems as well. The objective here is to understand the customer’s experience. As a queue management system is designed to manage the customer experience throughout the entire customer journey, so it is important to understand how your customers feel about it.

Normally touch screens or tablet stands are used and placed at the counters or at the exits depending upon the infrastructure of the premises. The customer feedback is collected in the form of a happiness meter or scale or a small customer survey. The important thing here to understand is to keep the feedback process simpler and easier. Traditionally a happiness meter suffices, but in certain cases, a short customer survey is also helpful. There should be only two to three questions in the survey and maybe some contact details too. Anything more than that and the customer will not attempt it, or even if some of them do attempt the survey, it will impact the wait time as the next customer can’t be called until the first person is completely done with the counter.

5. Reports, KPIs, and Business Intelligence Gathering

Reports, KPIs, and Business Intelligence GatheringEach and every industry has some standards and norms. Similarly, different regions have different business practices and different standards as well. Likewise in Dubai and all across the UAE all of the leading queue management system providers also offer a reporting module along with their queue management system software. However, there are certain things that you must consider before implementing the queue management system, for example, a comprehensive reporting module, an in-built data analytical engine, KPIs or key performance indicators, and business intelligence gathering.

The KPIs or key performance indicators are for the employees and the agents/server. These indicators capture various stats and performance markers. For example, how long is an employee taking to serve a customer? Which service is taking the longest time and so on? Which employee is handling most customers in a day? Which employee is getting the most positive or negative feedback? And a lot more. These indicators will help management to understand and monitor the performance of the individual employees as well as of the teams and branches as well.

However, business intelligence is gathered through various touchpoints, statistical data, performance indicators, and customer feedback. The queue management system can also help businesses in understanding the customer journey and various other factors that are very helpful for making decisions and taking steps to improve the customer journey and customer experience. Such data and information are crucial for strategy making and planning for the future. The business can utilize the data to understand the expectations and needs of their customers to make adjustments to further improve customer experience and customer journey.

6. Flexibility to Integrate via APIs

Flexibility to Integrate via APIsAny modern queue management system whether it is a general-purpose or a dedicated solution for a certain application/industry must have certain capabilities to integrate into the main information center or IT infrastructure of the organization. As we have mentioned a few things above such as virtual queuing, smartphone applications, online appointment booking, etc. All such features can be provided by a queue management system acting as a standalone solution or synchronizing and integrating with the other enterprise solutions & systems.

Such integration is achieved via secure web services or also known as APIs. System integration is a very important feature of a queue management system. It allows the queuing system to communicate with other databases and business tools to further improve the customer journey and customer experience. Integration is also very important to boost system efficiency and productivity.

The system integration via APIs not only allows the queue management system to get access to certain data but also allows the system to feed in data to other systems for other purposes as well. For example, customer feedback can be synched with the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software. The KPIs indicators can feed the overall enterprise performance management system for certain inputs. System integration opens up the ways for innovation and creativity and provides businesses with more flexibility, control, and better efficiency.

7. Future Scalability, Upgrades, and Maintenance

Future Scalability, Upgrades, and MaintenanceThe capability to scale and upgrade to meet the future’s requirements is something that is mandatory for any kind of business solution. Businesses are very skeptical of upgrades, future scalability, maintenance, and the expected cost for all such activities. As an IT solution is a long-term investment so the annual maintenance, future upgrades, and scalability are always a big concern for businesses. However, in the case of Queue Management Systems, these things are not as that complicated. The future scalability of the queue management systems is relatively easier. For example, if you have a queue management system installed in 3 branches and want to expand it to another two, it can be done by simply installing more basic devices and doesn’t require any core change or upgrade. Mostly the queue management system software is already built to support expansion.

Keeping in mind the rapid changes in the market trends and customer behavior in Dubai, UAE the capabilities of future upgrades are extremely important. A modern-day queue management system should be able to offer very cost-effective future upgrades and modifications to meet the ever-growing demands. The upgrades and modifications to the queue management system software can only be achieved if the system is designed to be friendly with such changes, else it would be difficult, costly, and problematic.

Another important aspect of the queue management system and its software is the regular maintenance and its cost. The queue management systems overall and their software are constructed on widely available platforms and technologies. The queuing systems are designed to be operated 24/7 and hardly require any reboot or maintenance for several years. So, the maintenance cost of the queue management system software and other components is very easy, simple, and cheaper comparing to any other IT solution.

Conclusion

As Dubai and all around the UAE businesses these days are actively seeking solutions to improve their customer journey by effectively managing the customer experience and employees’ productivity. A queue management system is the only tool that can help businesses effectively manage and improve the customer experience, customer journey, and service delivery methods. Most of the businesses have already implemented a digital queuing solution and are currently seeking to replace it or upgrade it, while others are eagerly looking to catch up by implementing a brand new queue management system. As the year 2020 has completely transformed the market trends and customer behavior the year 2021 is the year of adopting the new standards. That is the reason many businesses who are seeking to boost their productivity and profitability are planning for a queue management system to meet the needs of their customers.

There are so many queue management system suppliers operating in Dubai, UAE and there are so many different queue management systems available too. The difficulty is how to choose an appropriate queuing solution that could help you to achieve your objectives and goals. The purpose of this blog was to let our readers a better understanding of the queue management system software and we have listed 7 features of queue management software which will help our audience to easily judge a queue management solution. The most important thing to consider is that if the queue management system software is capable enough to provide you features and functionalities that will help you achieve the highest efficiency in terms of customer happiness and employee performance.

Another important thing to consider is the capability to scale for future needs, upgrades, and easy maintenance. The cost is always a big concern of the businesses so the upgrade, expansion, and maintenance should be very cost-effective and less time-consuming. RSI Concepts is one of the leading queue management system providers in Dubai, UAE we serving our customers for more than a decade with a very high success rate. We are here to help you find a great queuing solution for you that will not only help you build up a positive brand reputation but will provide you a great competitive edge too. Feel free to reach us out 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: Queue Management Challenges 2021


Queue Management Challenges 2021

Queue Management Challenges 2021

As the year 2020 had a huge impact on everyone, the customers are expecting a bit more digital experience. The year 2021 brings new challenges for queue management and queuing systems as well. Businesses in Dubai and all across the UAE will have to adopt digital solutions in order to meet the expectations and needs of the customers. The customer interaction should also be improved by adding digital interactions and experience. Nowadays the price has become a secondary factor when it comes to the customer loyalty, instead, the experience and interaction is the most important factor in customer loyalty. If you are offering a good price but not a good interaction your customers will soon leave you. Investing in customer experience projects and strategies such as queue management systems is a long-term investment, it could literally double up your revenue in three to four years. However, if your customer journey and customer experience are slightly less than the average you will immediately witness a decline in revenue, and customer retention will become harder. This scenario results in a lot of challenges for the queue management systems as well.

Here are some challenges for a queue management system in 2021 and their reasons:

Challenge No 1. The Impact of Pandemic

The Impact of Pandemic

The customer experience was earlier ruined by the crowded waiting areas and long queues. Businesses have to find innovative ways and solutions to manage such scenarios. After the pandemic of the COVID-19, this has completely changed, now businesses not only have to handle the queues but they must have to deal with the social distancing and health and safety regulations as well. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the governments have very strict policies and regulations, which are great for the health and safety of the public and society but for the business, it becomes even harder to manage the customer flow under such circumstances. The queue management systems earlier were programmed to automate customer journey and customer flow, now they must have to manage and control the number of customers allowed to be in the queue in order to implement social distancing.

Another most important factor is that businesses all around the world are actively seeking methods to cut costs. In such scenarios, expensive solutions or bulky upgrades are not an option for most businesses. This means that the queue management systems must have to be very cost-efficient and very effective to deal with social distancing and such scenarios. A queue management system will have to provide additional features and functionalities to aid the management in handling such situations at the same time it has to be very cost-effective too. If we talk about the long-term gains, queue management is an excellent customer happiness solution, as for the short-term gains, leading queue management system providers in Dubai such as RSI Concepts are offering great deals and support for local and international clients.

Challenge No 2. Customer Expectations

Customer Expectations

Customer expectations is a very important trend to keep an eye on. There are so many factors that influence customer expectations. The more notable are the competitors, the overall market trends, for example, in 2021 all sorts of businesses, public and private sectors, government offices, and everywhere else where ever you go, the social distancing is a must. This lead to a new trend, now a day’s people expect from their brands and service provider to offer certain solutions and systems in place which will help them to implement social distancing and such stuff.

Apart from social distancing, even before that in Dubai and all across the UAE businesses and institutions who are facilitating visitors and customers are always having one or another kind of digital queue management system. This trend led people in expecting a digital queue management system wherever they go. If their brand is not offering a digital queue management system then they will perceive it negatively and they could think that the brand is outdated or old hence they should consider other businesses who are offering better services, etc.

Another important factor is the competition. If your competitors are offering a digital queue management system at their branch, then your customers and visitors will also expect a digital queue management system there and so on and so forth. That is how customer’s expectations are formed and businesses should have to consider those trends and customer expectations when making future strategies and taking decisions.

Challenge No 3. Customer Journey

Customer Journey

The year 2021 is the year of digitalization, everything is getting digital. The things that can’t get completely digital are getting partially digital with heavy involvement of digital systems and solutions. That is not all, businesses have changed their practices and methods too. The queue management systems have to adapt to all those changes as well. Businesses are moving towards digital interactions and inventing ways to be as contactless as possible, however, in most cases a completely digital customer journey is not possible. Now a day’s queue management systems are integrated with various other systems to expedite the customer flow and to improve the customer journey. Most of the queue management system providers in Dubai are focusing on innovating new ideas and personalized queue management systems for certain industries.

The general consumer market is leaning towards online and eCommerce. However, the service-based industries that can’t completely go digital are partially digitalizing their services and service delivery mechanisms. For example, virtual queuing is partially digitalizing the customer journey and queue management. The online appointment is helping the health care industry and so on. As per the regulations and laws, only a certain percentage of customers and visitors can be welcomed at a given time. This means that the businesses would not be able to let more people inside the premises to wait in the waiting area. The customers will have to wait outside. In order to deal with this problem the queue management systems adapted to virtual queuing, online appointments, smartphone apps, and such features to help both the business and the customers too.

Challenge No 4. Customer Experience

Customer Experience

Another toughest challenge that a queue management system has today is the customer experience. Despite all those factors that are not only changing the customer behavior but also demand a completely different approach to handle customer flow, maintaining the customer experience is a very challenging job. This is why the queue management systems have to adapt to the new trends and requirements very quickly. All the customer touchpoints, interactions, and relevant business processes that were being handled through the queue management systems should be reworked and redesigned. The modern queue management systems in 2021 are not only a ticket dispensing and customer calling setup but in fact a complete customer happiness and customer experience management tools.

The customers are very sensitive these days, especially about their interaction and experience at public places. As the market has shifted rapidly so there is too much confusion among the marketers and businesses, everyone is trying to catch up. In such situations, things could easily go wrong, so it is important to focus and work in the right direction. This demands critical thinking and a better understanding of customer behavior and demands. Although it may sound difficult it is not. These days the most important thing any customer wants is the quickest service delivery, the least wait time, and better human interaction. Well, this is what a customer always wanted. But these days, it is extremely important to focus on these factors to improve customer experience. An advanced queue management system should be able to help management in dealing with such situations.

These days, the overall market trends and the behavior of the general population are changing. The working from home, online schools, eCommerce, and a long list of online services which before that we never thought could go online, have completely shifted the market trends. Now the customers are very comfortable with the digital experience, in fact, prefer digital over traditional methods. So including digital fragments into your business process along with the personalized interaction or human interaction could really boost the customer experience which will increase customer happiness and satisfaction.

Challenge No 5. Virtual Queuing

Virtual Queuing

Virtual queuing is also a modern customer flow management technique. The virtual queue management system is a queuing system that allows the customers and visitors to sign-up for the queue even before physically appearing at the business. There are so many different methods and approaches to attain virtual queuing functionality. Virtual queuing not only allow remote sign-up but also provides the queuing information and various other data directly to the customer using various different mediums, the most commonly used methods are SMS and Smartphone Applications. This data and live status updates are very helpful for the customers as well as for the business.

The virtual queue management systems are gaining popularity in Dubai and also all around the UAE. Virtual queuing can significantly reduce the customer wait time and in fact, it can completely eliminate the wait time. The customers and visitors are already provided with live updates and queuing information so they can come at the exact time when their number is called. Virtually there will be no wait time at all. The virtual queue management systems also reduce the workload of the staff and servers/agents. Which further improves their efficiency and service quality. The customers and visitors can have an excellent user experience.

Virtual queuing can be a little bit challenging if not planned properly. However, at RSI Concepts, we have a highly experienced design team and business analysts. Our virtual queue management systems can not only provide a personalized experience but also provide a very flexible control panel and data collection module for the management.

Challenge No 6. Integration with Other Systems and Tools

Integration with Other Systems and Tools

In order to cater to the needs of the businesses under today’s circumstances, a queue management system will have to be able to synchronize and integrate with tons of other enterprise solutions and business tools. For example, in order to include a virtual queuing module the queue management system will have to be linked with the Smartphone Applications, QR Code module, Customer Portals, Intranet, ERP, and Sales System too (if required). These are just a few commonly used types of integration. There are several others that are required to ensure the desired customer experience.

Integration is usually done via Secure Web Services or APIs. Integrating one system with another could be tricky but integrating one system with three or four or even more different systems and synchronizing data between all of them could be very challenging for a queue management system. Sometimes there have to be some intermediary applications to make sure everything works as per the plan without any technical problem. These apps should be designed and developed along with the customization of the queue management system as well.

As each and every business has certain business processes and unique methodologies and practices. So the queue management system also has to be very flexible in order to support the businesses in improving their efficiency and productivity without forcing them to change their business processes and methodologies. This could be even more challenging when the queue management system will also have to integrate with various other systems and corporate tools.

Conclusion

As the year 2020 has completely changed everything the customer journey and customer experience that we were experiencing earlier have been completely changed. The pandemic and resulting circumstances have changed every aspect of our daily life. When social distancing is required the digital and online services are the best solution. However, there are still so many businesses that can’t conduct business online. People will still have to visit the business or a local branch to get the service done. The trends have been shifted and the general behavior of the customers has been changed completely. This means that in order to maintain a better customer experience and customer journey, the queue management systems should also have to evolve.

This brings a lot of new challenges for the queue management systems in the year 2021. The new digitalized features and virtual queuing are not new to the queue management system industry. However, earlier multiple different digital services were provided in different types of queue management solutions. But now a day, all those features have to be provided in a single queue management system. The business should also have to maintain the best customer experience, which is also very challenging for the queue management system. This blog was to highlight those challenges and to let our audience have a better understanding of the market trends and the new advancements in the queue management system market. At RSI Concepts we have specialized in queue management systems and various other customer happiness and customer satisfaction solutions. If you need any help or want to get a quote, feel free to reach us out 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: What are the 7 advanced features of QMS?


What are the 7 advanced features of QMS?

QMS or Queue Management System is a very powerful tool used to improve customer satisfaction and customer journey. Basically, a queue management system streamlines the customer flow and organizes the queues automatically, which helps in reducing the wait time and improving the customer experience. Due to ever-changing market dynamics and the demands of the customers, customer journey transformation solutions are gaining popularity worldwide. Especially in Dubai and all around the UAE businesses and enterprises are focusing more on the customer journey and customer experience than ever before. The main reason is that the customers are expecting a lot from their brands and another factor is the tough competition. The healthy competition in the market is always beneficial for the customers, as everyone is trying to offer better quality and service than the others. However, quality products and services are not the only reason for success. In fact, these days the customer journey, customer experience and customer happiness is the most powerful contributor in the success or failure of a business.

7 advanced features of QMS

When it comes to choosing the best QMS for your business there are certain things that need to be considered. Especially in Dubai and UAE, there are so many variants available, the best choice is always a customized queue management system (QMS). However, there are certain queuing solutions that are designed for specific purposes or applications, for example, queue management systems for hospitals & clinics or queue management systems for colleges & universities, etc. No matter what type or model of queuing you are using the features and functionalities of a QMS remains the same. As the queue management system industry is growing rapidly worldwide and more manufacturers are offering better and cheaper hardware options the QMS system providers in Dubai such as RSI Concepts are also improving the software in order to maximize the impact of the queue management system on the customer journey and customer happiness.

Here are some advanced features of a QMS:

1. Virtual Queuing

Virtual QueuingThe most popular and very advanced feature in a QMS is virtual queuing. As we all know the current pandemic has completely transformed the customers’ behavior and expectations. Which results in a more digitalized experience than ever before. Virtual queuing is also a modern-day solution for a whole bunch of problems. Virtual queuing is not a new invention, in fact, it was around for a long time before the pandemic, but in late 2020 and since the beginning of 2021 the virtual queuing has been gaining momentum. More businesses are showing interest in virtual queuing. The idea is to let customers sign-up for the actual queue before even arriving at the branch. Such customers and visitors are treated the same way as they were present in the actual physical queue. This not only reduces the wait time, as the customers can arrive at the very moment when their ticket number is called or just before that. And it has a great impact on the customer journey and customer experience.

2. Smartphone Apps

Smartphone AppsSmartphone applications are very common these days. In fact due to the vision of digitalization of the government announced by the government of UAE, a lot many trends have been changed. As the government is effectively providing e-services and various portals to enable digital channels, the general public is also very used to digital services and digital mediums. The most used digital medium is smartphone applications. This has set a new trend, the public and private sector followed by offering digital alternates and smartphone applications to access digital services. The queue management system or QMS is no exception, all the leading queuing solution providers have adopted the trend and are currently offering smartphone-enabled queue management systems.

The smartphone applications also support virtual queuing and other features such as online appointment booking, branch allocators, real-time queue updates and status monitoring, and much more. The main idea behind this is to further improve customer experience and provide them more freedom and control over their visits and schedules. The smartphone apps allow online or remote sign-up and then it also provides notifications, announcements, and real-time status updates to ensure the customer or visitor doesn’t miss out on their turn. These features are incredibly transforming the customer journey and customer experience. Furthermore, the queue management system smartphone applications can also be used to collect various stats and business intelligence data which is very helpful in decision making and planning.

3. Appointment Booking Module

Appointment Booking ModuleThe appointment booking module is a fairly new addition to the queue management system. It enables the customers and visitors to choose the time and date of their choice to plan their visit. It also enables them to virtually sign-up for the queue. Hence when the appointment time comes the customer can arrive at the very exact time of their turn and don’t have to wait in the long queues. The customers can be served instantly at the time of their choice. The appointment booking module is a great feature for queue management systems.

Usually, the appointment booking panel or portal is provided via website or smartphone applications. The appointment booking portal also provides statistical data such as the busiest hours details, the busiest day details on any particular branch. The customer can also set a time and date of their choice and then the system can tell them which nearest branch will be least crowded at their desired time. Such information is very helpful for customers and visitors to plan their visit. The online appointment booking module also provides other appointment booking methods such as SMS, Email, or Phone Call. The customer can enjoy more freedom and lesser wait time and they can also schedule their visits at their own convenience. It helps to improve the customer journey as well as the customer experience. Customer satisfaction and happiness rise which leads to higher customer loyalty and more easy customer retention.

4. Integration via APIs

Integration via APIsAny modern QMS (queue management system) is incomplete without the feature of integration via APIs. The API integration is the most convenient, simplest, and cost-effective method of integration between two systems. The integration is mainly used to link various systems with each other or with the central information center of the entire organization. It not only helps businesses to innovate new methods and techniques to improve the customer journey and experience but it also helps businesses to boost the efficiency of the staff. Not only in Dubai, UAE but all around the world the API integration is the most common method of synchronizing two or more systems.

The integration of the queue management system with other enterprise tools and software allows the business to collect more accurate monitoring and statistical data. It helps to improve various business processes via automation which directly impacts the service delivery process and customer journey. Every modern-day QMS should be able to support API integration.

5. Centralized Control and Monitoring

Centralized Control and MonitoringAs in Dubai and all across the UAE most of the businesses have regional branches and offices at multiple locations. Which raises the importance of centralized control and monitoring. The centralized control and monitoring are must have the advanced features of a QMS. It enables the head office to monitor and control all of the branches from the head office that is why this feature is also known as remote management and monitoring. A queue management system with centralized control and monitoring feature enables the head office to assign various tasks and workflows to the relevant branch managers, CRMs, and supervisors. The head office will be provided with real-time updates from all connected branches and locations. The queue management system should be able to allow building and configuring administrative functions and job roles. A complete management hierarchy should be provided.

In the queue management systems, the management hierarchy enables the management to easily authenticate the system users to allow them access to the relevant data. For example, the branch manager of branch A should not be able to view data from branch B or any other branch’s data unless permission is being granted from the head office and vice versa. This is a great feature to organize and manage the operations of the queue management system.

6. Reporting, KPIs, and System Usage Stats

Reporting, KPIs, and System Usage StatsAs the queuing systems or queue management systems (QMS) evolved over the past few years, the data and analysis methods got improved over time as well. The reporting, system stats, and usage data along with the KPIs provide a vital insight into the entire business process and the performance of the employees. The KPIs or Key Performance Indicators are set up to measure and understand the performance and behavior of the employees. The system can provide KPIs such as:

  • How many customers are being served by an employee in a particular day or over a week or on monthly bases
  • How much average time is consumed by an employee to serve one customer or visitor
  • How is the performance of the employee during busy hours
  • Which employee is better at delivering which service quicker than the others
  • Which employee is good at which service and vice versa
  • Which employee is getting more negative or positive feedback
  • Which service is being disliked by the customers
  • Which service is more popular
  • Which signup method is more popular

Obviously, these are just a few points there are so many other details that can be captured. The reporting module covers the entire customer journey and all-important touchpoints. The system usage stats provide a comprehensive detail about the services most used and liked by the customers along with the queuing process details. These all details, data, and stats are compiled in reports and analyzed by the queue management system’s in-built analytical engine to extract actionable reports. The management can use this data to make future strategies and to take steps to improve their service delivery process, customer journey, and experience and to improve their products and services.

7. Cross-Platform Compatibility, Scalability, and Simple Operation

Cross-Platform Compatibility, Scalability, and Simple OperationThese days everything is very fast and keeping up the pace is vital for sustainability and profitability. Any modern enterprise system or business tools should be able to stay relevant for the future or should allow simple and easy upgrades with affordable costs. Although the Cross-Platform Compatibility, Scalability and Simple Operation are three different features but are completely intertwined. Cross-platform compatibility also known as plug-n-play operation means that the QMS or queue management system should be able to work with different environments. To be more precise it means that regardless of the operating system or computer type or model the QMS interface should be able to work one hundred percent. That is why modern-day queue management systems offer web-based user interfaces. Which only requires a standard browser (MS Edge, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, etc) regardless of the system type whether it is a workstation or laptop or windows based computer or MAC-based computer, or Linux queue management system dashboard works without any issue.

The scalability or ability to upgrade and expand is also very important while selecting a queue management system for your business. Businesses should carefully examine the feasibility and terms of future expansion and upgrades while selecting a QMS or queue management system. The technology used to build the queue management systems is very widely available and is quite durable, which ensures longevity and long-term operation with very little maintenance cost. This is also very important and all advanced queue management systems are very durable, their lifecycle is longer than most of the other corporate solutions and the maintenance cost is also very low. The operation should be simple and doesn’t require much training. This is why at RSI Concepts we always suggest our customers go with a customized solution that not only boosts the performance but it is also very simple to operate.

Read More: What are basic features of Queuing System?

Conclusion

If you are operating in Dubai or any other region of UAE and you are providing such services which require one-on-one interaction with your customers. You must have a queue management system. The queue management system not only helps to streamline the customer flow but also helps to improve the customer journey, customer experience, and employee performance. Happy customers are a most precious asset of a business because they remain loyal to the brand and spread positive words about the brand which not only helps attract more customers and visitors but a positive brand identity also helps to get better conversion rates from all sorts of marketing campaigns.

However, when it comes to selecting a queue management system, there are too many options available. This is the reason we wrote this blog to help our audience understand the advanced features of a queue management system. It is always better to consult professionals or

seek help, at RSI Concepts we always welcome everyone. So, if you have any questions or need any more details on anything 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: What are the Basic Components of Queue Management System?