Would you like to reduce or even eliminate the physical queuing in your establishment? Long queues have a definite negative impact on the experience and satisfaction of your customers. Amusement parks are well aware of this, and have long been working to optimise their queues... More broadly speaking, all establishments open to the public (shops, restaurants, museums, banks, government offices) have every interest in equipping themselves with solutions that can optimise or even reduce their visitors' waiting times.
Advances in new technologies have enabled queue management solutions to be virtualised, resulting in increasingly efficient systems that eliminate the need for people to queue physically. This is the case with virtual queuing systems, which you have probably already heard of. These systems have many advantages, but they also have their drawbacks... Other solutions, such as measuring waiting time, are just as effective alternatives!
Virtual queuing system: some drawbacks to consider
How does a virtual queue management system work?
Virtual queuing allows your customers to wait their turn without having to queue physically. They are not forced to wait in a specific place imposed by the establishment, they can wait wherever they like!
How does virtual queuing work?
Check-in: your visitors register in the virtual queue by picking up a ticket at the ticket terminal, on the web ticketing system or on a dedicated mobile application.
Waiting: they can go about their business as they please while they wait!
Passage: they are notified via a screen in your establishment and/or via their phone (SMS, mobile application) when it's their turn.
Finally, all the contact points in the customer journey can be virtualised: joining the queue via digital media; waiting at a distance with the possibility of tracking their progress in the queue; passing through via a notification on their smartphone when it's their turn and even collecting customer opinions by sending out a survey after their visit!
What are the advantages and disadvantages of queue virtualisation?
Thanks to a virtual queuing solution, your management is optimised and made easier because customers are automatically assigned to the queue without any human effort. There's no need to question each customer (to find out which service they want) and direct them. You reduce overcrowding on your premises, enabling you to maintain social distance in the event of a health crisis such as the one linked to COVID-19. So you can guarantee the safety of your customers and your employees! Finally, you'll be able to improve your visitors' satisfaction while reducing their anxiety.
However, there are a few points to bear in mind. We advise you not to do away with your physical queue altogether, as this is likely to generate frustration among the less technophile customers who will be forced to use this virtual queue system. What's more, customers who prefer to wait their turn on the spot won't know where to do so. There is therefore a risk of adding confusion to a process that was originally intended to simplify and streamline the user experience.
The effective alternative: measuring waiting time
Virtual queuing is not the only system capable of helping you manage your queues more effectively! There are plenty of even more effective alternatives to help you manage your public areas more effectively: such as a solution for measuring waiting time.
Measuring the waiting time for access to your establishment and communicating this directly to your visitors will have a number of benefits:
your visitors can decide to postpone their visit and come during off-peak periods,
They will feel more relaxed and reassured knowing this information,
They will be able to optimise their time as they see fit,
This will enable you to automatically smooth out your flows over the whole day, or even the week, and so reduce waiting times.
But how can you easily distribute this information to your public? With the Affluences queue management solution, you can communicate real-time and forecasted queues on your own media, i.e. on a dedicated mobile application and on a web application, as well as on your own website thanks to the Affluences web API.
In shops or shopping centres, it's also a good idea to display the waiting time on a screen at the entrance to the establishment. Your customers will know exactly how long they will have to wait, so they can decide to postpone their visit when the time is right. In this way, they can organise their time differently. Very often, the perceived waiting time is much higher than the actual one, but thanks to a solution like this, there's no doubt about it! Your customers' anxiety and frustration are automatically eliminated: they'll come back later soothed and relaxed ;)
What's more, this type of solution will enable you to use and manage this waiting data internally, thanks to a datavisualisation interface. You'll be able to analyse your performance and gain a better understanding of your customers' behaviour!
If you're installing sensors to measure waiting times in your establishment, take the opportunity to equip yourself with an all-in-one solution that will enable you to manage your flows in a general way. This is the case with the Affluences solution, which, thanks to its people counting systems, can measure your occupancy rate and footfall at the same time as your waiting time! Once again, all this information is shared across multiple channels so that it reaches your visitors easily. In this way, you can control your traffic from A to Z, not just your queues. You'll be able to improve your visitors' experience by measuring footfall and waiting times.
Are you convinced and want to implement a flow management solution that will also optimise the management of your queues? Then get in touch!