The Ultimate Guide to Queue Management

In any service based industry in Dubai or anywhere in UAE the biggest problem every business and customer face is the long wait time and hard to manage queues. No one likes to wait. Whether you are a bank, a government office, a healthcare facility, an educational institute, a service provider or anything else, you will always find it difficult to manage the queues and your customers will always complaint about the long wait time. This not only ruin the customer journey and customer experience but it also destroys the brand reputation and the customer relationship. Which could have very bad consequences in long term and could jeopardize the future of the business or organization. It is difficult to completely eliminate the waiting, but it can be reduced, organized and managed to make the customer waiting experience more pleasant and their journey more satisfactory. For that a queue management system is used.

The Ultimate Guide to Queue Management

What is a Queue Management System?

A queue management system is used to manage the customer flow effectively, organize the queues, and reduce the customer wait time. This is the very basic definition of a queue management system. However, these days the business and organization in Dubai and all around the UAE are using the queue management system to transform the customer journey and customer experience. The main goal for any business of organization is to have satisfied customers. That is what a queue management system is used for. But it also provide other benefits, such as it increase employees’ work efficiency, it help improving profitability, reduces expenses and help improving customer relationship with the brand. The queue management systems are also a great source of valuable business intelligence which is vital for decision making and planning for the future. From the technical point of view a queue management system is a tool that help building and managing queuing processes, waiting line disciplines, customer routing, services channels, KPIs, feedbacks, statistical data and much more.

What is a Queue Management System?

The digital queue management system consists of several different parts but all these parts can be classified in two main categories, the software and the hardware.

Read More: World’s First WhatsApp Queue Management Solution

Queue Management System Hardware Components

A variety of hardware accessories and components can be added and integrated in a queue management system to achieve certain functionalities, however there are some essential queue management system hardware components:

  • Self-Service Interactive Sing-up Kiosk/Ticket Dispensing Kiosk
  • Digital Signage Screens
  • Counter Plates
  • Announcement System/Audio System

Some non-essential but popular components are:

  • Emirates ID Card Reader
  • RFID Reader
  • QR Code Reader
  • Payment POS and/or Cash Acceptance

There are a lot many other components that can be added to meet certain needs and unconventional requirements. Here are the details of all essential hardware components:

Self-Service Interactive Sing-up Kiosk/Ticket Dispensing Kiosk

Self-Service Interactive Sing-up Kiosk/Ticket Dispensing KioskThe self-service interactive sign-up kiosk or ticket dispensing kiosk is used to allow the customers and visitors to sign-up for the queues. Usually a business is offering multiple services, and mostly certain counters are dedicated for certain services. Whatever the case is, a customer or visitor can select the desired service from the available services list and sign-up for that queue. Even if there is only one counter the self-service interactive kiosk is helpful for sign-up process, it saves time and automate the sign-up process. It also dispense a ticket bearing the customer number in the queue with estimated time to their turn or any other additional information or marketing content.

Digital Signage Screens

Digital Signage ScreensThe digital signage screens are a very important hardware component of any queue management system. The screens are used to display the real-time queuing updates and other relevant information. It can also provide the list of the active counters along with the current ticket number serving on the counter. Businesses can also display the estimated time for the next few customers in line. Such information are very helpful in improving customer’s waiting experience. Moreover, the digital signage screens can also play multimedia content on it which keep the users engaged and also make their waiting experience pleasant.

Counter Plates

Counter PlatesThe counter plates are small digital displays that are placed on each counter. Usually these are small elongated LCD screens or LED displays, which display the counter number and also the active ticket number. Such information is very helpful for customer in finding their service counter.

Announcement System/Audio System

Announcement System/Audio SystemAs the name suggest, it is a sound system used for customer calling and it can make announcements for the ticket number along with the counter number and any other required details. The audio announcement system consists of multiple speakers which are placed in different location to make the announcements audible for everyone in the waiting area. The announcements can be bilingual i,e English and Arabic or also in any other language.

Queue Management System Software Components

A queue management system software is an intelligent application and a well-crafted control console for the management. The software is used to implement policies, monitoring, and aiding queuing processes as well as it can also help improving various service delivery processes. The usually queue management system have a standard software application which is hosted on a server, it can be hosted in online hosting, cloud, or local/in-premises data center as well. The interactive kiosks, announcement system, digital signage and the agent computers are linked with the queue management system server application. The application also provide the administrative panel and control console. Here are some essential queue management system software components:

  • Administrative Control Panel
  • Agent Dashboard
  • Self-Service Interactive Kiosk User Interface
  • Digital Signage Controls
  • Reporting and KPIs Monitoring Module
  • Statistical Data Analytical Engine
  • Customer Feedbacks

Here are some popular queue management system software components:

  • Virtual Queuing Module
  • Appointment Booking System
  • Mobile Apps
  • QR Code Module

Here are the details of essential queue management software components:

Administrative Control Panel

Administrative Control PanelThe administrative control panel is basically a control console for the entire queue management system. The businesses can add and manage multiple branches. Multiple system users can be added as per the administrative hierarchy. The businesses can add head office users, higher level managers, branch managers, employees with various access levels, agents and other system users. The administrative control panel makes it easy to integrate the queue management system in the business and organization management and work flow.

The Agent Dashboard

The Agent DashboardThe agent dashboard is the agent control panel. The agent can manage and control queues. They can utilize the customer calling functionality to call customers and make announcements. The service delivery related features can also be integrated in the agent dashboard to improve the service delivery process and quality. The system integration with other systems such as customer data base, sales system, CRM, etc. can be achieved via APIs which is a very secure and most efficient way for such data integration and synchronization.

Self-Service Interactive Kiosk User Interface

Self-Service Interactive Kiosk User InterfaceThe self-service interactive kiosk user interface is the very first touch point of the customer. The customer generates their ticket number from the kiosks and sign-up for their queue. The interface can provide functionality to select from a list of available services as well as it can provide relevant information and any other functionality required for the sign-up such as scanning of the Emirates ID card or making payment for the service, etc.

Digital Signage Controls

Digital Signage ControlsThe digital signage controls is a part of the administrative control console, it allows the management to run multimedia content on the digital signage screens along with the queuing information and other updates. The signage controls allow the management to perform basic digital signage functionalities to improve the user engagements and interactions during the wait time.

Reporting and KPIs Monitoring Module

Reporting and KPIs Monitoring ModuleThe queue management system software has capabilities to monitor and capture data from each and every touch point of the customer journey. It also record valuable statistical data and measures various KPIs and other indicators. Which is very helpful for the management and make them able to make informed decisions on the bases of highly accurate data feeds from various sources.

Statistical Data Analytical Engine

Statistical Data Analytical EngineThe statistical and data analytical engine is also a part of the reporting module but it is a very useful component. It analyze the data and allow the management to extract the data in multiple format. It also help the management in creating reports with visual and graphical analysis and data presentations.

Customer Feedbacks

Customer FeedbacksThe customer feedback is a very important and essential part of business intelligence. It provides a direct window into the customer’s minds. The business can utilize the feedback to evaluate each and every aspect of the customer journey, the quality of the service and products, the employee performance and much more. The customer feedback along with other business intelligence highlights the areas of improvements and enables the management to take actions and make strategies for future improvement to maximize the customer satisfaction and quality of the service and products.

How to Choose a Best Queue Management System?

When it comes to the queue management system there are so many different vendors and systems available in the market. Businesses often get confused when they are selecting a queue management system. There are also some popular brands which advertise their systems with different brand names. However, there are certain things that a business should consider while selecting a queue management system to make sure it will be helpful in solving their problems.

How to Choose a Best Queue Management System?

Here are some key points to consider while selecting a queue management system or configuring/customizing a queue management system:

What are the Different Queuing Process Types?

The queuing process is basically managing the queues, streamlining the customer flow and improving customer journey. However there are certain service delivery mechanisms which are different for each business and that is how a business should chose a queuing process for their queue management system:

Single Phase Single Channel Queuing

When a business has single counter which serves each customer and a full service isdelivered through a single counter it is called single phase single channel queuing.

Multi-Phase Single Channel Queuing

When a customer will have to go to multiple counters to get a full service delivery and each counter serves a single step of the service it is called multi-phase single channel queuing.

Single Phase Multi-Channel Queuing

When a single service can be delivered at a single counter and there are multiple counters who can serve the same service it is called single phase multi-channel queuing.

Multi-Phase Multi-Channel Queuing

When a single service delivery requires a customer to visit multiple counters and for each step more than one counters are available it is called multi-phase multi-channel queuing.

How the Branch, Office or Facility Operates?

The capacity of the branch, office or customer service center is also important and it will help you selecting an appropriate queue management system which will meet your needs. Here are some important things that you should understand about the facility:

The Population of the Customers

The population of the customers or daily footfall is classified in two categories, one is limited and the second is unlimited. Facilities like boarding counters and clinic have limited number of expected customer or daily footfall. Facilities like customer service centers and banks doesn’t have a limited or pre-defined number of expected customers or daily footfall.

The Method of Arrival

The method of arrival is also important. Usually business operate on single arrival mode, it means that each customer will come individually. However some businesses are serving customers in group arrival mode. It means the customer will arrive there in form of a large group such as Immigration Services, HR Departments, etc.

The Infrastructure of the Facility

The infrastructure of the facility is also important. A business should consider the number of counters, space for the queues, capacity of the waiting areas, and size and shape of the facility. These things will help business in determining the type of the queue management system as well as the size and quantity of the components require for a cost-efficient queue management system solution.

Read More: Why Business Need Mobile Apps along with Classic Queue Management System?

What are the Benefits of a Queue Management System?

A queue management system can significantly improve the customer journey and provide several benefits which help businesses in improving profitability and ensuring steady growth. Here are some of the major benefits of a digital queue management system:

  1. Reduce Customer Wait Time
  2. Improve Customer Waiting Experience
  3. Improve Customer Journey
  4. Improve Customer Happiness and Customer Satisfaction
  5. Improve Customer Loyalty and Reduce Customer Churn Rate
  6. Organize Queues and Customer Flow Effectively
  7. Automate the Customer Journey
  8. Improve Employee Performance and Reduce their Workload
  9. Improve Resource Management and Reduce Operational Cost
  10. Improve Service Delivery Quality
  11. Collect Customer Feedback
  12. Gather Valuable Business Intelligence
  13. Measure KPIs, Prepare Reports and Improve Future Strategies
  14. Improve Revenue and Profitability
  15. Bring Innovation and Get Competitive Edge

What are the Benefits of a Queue Management System?

These are only a few benefits of a queue management system. When a business implement a queuing solution they can literally transform the entire customer journey and customer experience which will help them improving service quality and customer retention. The customer happiness improves customer loyalty and customer loyalty help business building good relationship with then and a positive brand image in the market. In a long term a queue management system can provide excellent ROIs.

Read More: Top 10 Virtual Queue Management Benefits

Conclusion

A queue management system is considered to be an essential part of the service based industry. Especially in Dubai and all around the UAE where the competition is tough and the customers have too many choices, it is extremely important to stay ahead of your competition and ensure ultimate customer experience and customer journey. The happy and satisfied customers are more loyal to the brands and loyal customers can be a great asset for a business. The customer loyalty plays an important role in business growth. In this blog we have discussed the queue management and the queue management system. If you follow the above mentioned guide to understand the queuing process and to assess your queuing needs, you will be able to get a very efficient and cost-effective queue management system. RSI Concepts is a leading name in Queue Management System providers in Dubai, UAE. If you need any more help, 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 blog: Why should you adopt queue management systems?

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

Benefits of Queue Management using Mobile Apps

The queue management systems or queuing systems are already helping businesses and organizations by streamlining and controlling the customer flow to maintain a pleasant customer experience throughout the complete service delivery process. When an intelligent queue management system coupled with a smartphone application, it could results in more freedom for the visitors, and more control for the branch and staff on the customer flow management. The smartphone applications are also very helpful in gathering feedbacks and other stats, which could also help the management to understand the performance and efficiency of the existing system.

Benefits-of-Queue-Management-using-Mobile-Apps

Here are some benefits of Queue Management using Mobile Apps:

1. Join the Queue before Arriving at the Branch

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Allow your customers to join the queue before even arriving at the branch. As we all know that sometimes the traffic in Dubai and also in Sharjah, could be very slow, traffic jams are normal during the busy hours. The customers who happened to stuck in traffic for let’s say 30 to 45 minutes is already anxious, and if they will have to wait in long queues, then this will also going to impact their mood. That is where a queue management system integrated with a mobile app can help. Businesses can allow their visitors and customer to sign-up for the queue from their smartphone application before even arriving at the branch or customer service centre.

2. Reduce Wait Time

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Wait time will automatically reduce if a customer will sign-up for the queue before their arrival at the branch. Not only that it also allows the management to prevent crowding and rush in the waiting areas. Crowd or a large number of guests, visitors and customers in the waiting area also bring more trouble for the admin and service staff. Which could further annoy the customers. Preventing large crowds will not only ease the staff but it will also improve the customer experience and customer journey through the service delivery process.

3. Real-Time Updates and Push Notifications

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The queuing system mobile app can automatically provide real-time updates. The smartphone applications are very flexible and at the same time very capable. It is up to your imagination and innovation that what functionality would you want to provide to your customers and visitors. Push-notifications, SMS and alerts are some of the great features. You can provide all necessary updates to the user from the various way along with a notification.

4. Branch Locator in the Mobile App

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The queue management system smartphone application or queuing mobile app is a great tool. The customers/visitors can search and locate any nearest branch easily. With integration with any digital map/location provider, the mobile app user can even lookup for the nearest branch or the branch where they could reach at the earliest as per the traffic situation in the route. This is a very advance and great feature. There are so many possibilities and so many features that can be introduced into the branch locator to facilitate the customers/visitors.

Another very advance feature in the branch locator module of our queue management mobile app is to provide details about the ongoing queues for the branch. The branch locator can also point the visitors/customers to another nearby branch with less active queues. This also helps the user to identify and reach a branch where they could be served at the earliest.

5. Customer Feedback from the Queuing System Mobile App

Customer-Feedback-from-the-Queuing-System-Mobile-App

Collecting Customer Feedback always help customer relationship and communication teams. This also provides you with a direct channel to communicate with your customers and visitors. Smartphone applications are the most commonly used mediums in Dubai, UAE. People feel more comfortable in expressing their thoughts through digital mediums rather a direct phone call or in person. So, the chances are very high that the customer will give you an honest opinion using smartphone applications. The mobile app also allows you to communicate with the customers, such as if you want to share new promotions, products, services, offers, etc you can utilize the application to push such news to a huge number of the customer without any additional cost.

6. Business Intelligence, Reports and Analytical Data

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Business intelligence, reports and analytical data are very important for businesses. The reports and statistical data analysis can provide you a great business insight. You can accurately measure the efficiency of the system and you can easily highlight the areas which require improvements. The management can gather valuable business intelligence from not only usage and other stats but also from the customer feedback through a queue management system mobile app. This will help businesses a lot in taking productive decisions and forming their future strategies.

Read also: Queue Management System Integrated with Appointment Management System

Conclusion

Benefits of queue management using mobile apps are equal for both the visitors/customers and the businesses themselves. The smartphone mobile applications help customers by providing them with a lot of many facilities. The communication and marketing department can also utilize them as a communication tool and businesses can easily market new products/services or offer through mobile apps without any additional cost. It reduces the workload on the serving staff and helps to improve the customer experience. Businesses can also use queue management system mobile apps to aid the implementation of their new policies and much more. The business intelligence gathered through statistical and usage data and customer feedback is priceless.

Businesses can benefit a lot from their queue management systems by integrating mobile apps. If you want to upgrade your queue management system or if you want to develop smartphone applications for your queue management system or for any other department, it is always important to reach out to a proper professional mobile app development company in Dubai, UAE, such as RSI Concepts. Please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page.

Check this out: Importance of digital queue management system in 2021