Have you ever tried waiting in line at the grocery store, bank, or other establishments? Have you noticed all the efforts done by the company in order to manage the queues? Well, these are all called queue management systems. A QMS is used to keep a well-organized queue. It keeps customers assured that they get served on time and at a synchronized manner. Having to use this kind of technology lessens the hassle for customers, staff, and management as well. Many businesses suffer because of this due to the increasing waiting time by customers. Large shopping malls have encouraged their vendors to adopt commercial queue solutions that can help increase the conversion of visitors by improving the customer experience and making transactions more seamless.
Now, let us go deeper and get to know more about queue management systems.
Hyun Lee will share to us all the other things we need to know about QMS.
The Definitive Guide to Queue Management Systems
For something as essential to businesses as queue management, there aren’t that many guides on the subject. And, on the first glance, the guides aren’t exactly needed.
After all, how complicated can it be? You get customers standing in line and you manage them, right?
But if you’re looking for ways to engage your visitors, keep your staff in high spirits and build up your business image, the best path to success lies through queue management.
Does queue management system work? How do you make the most out of your business by simply arranging waiting lines?
This post will give you the lowdown on queue management — from the basics of how it works to actionable tips on how to implement and start using QMS in your business.
Let’s get started. Read more here
Now that we already know a lot about queue management systems like its types and benefits, it would be better if we discuss two specific ways of managing a queue. It is true that we have a lot, but these two systems can work a lot today, especially that the current generation is more on technology.
In an article found at presentationpoint.com, a queueing management system using PowerPoint will be discussed.
Waiting Queue Management System in PowerPoint
Our software is often used as queue management software for banks, attractions and waiting rooms. You enter the waiting area of a building and pick your number and then wait until your number is displayed. With the number that you got from the ticket dispenser, you are guaranteed that the sequence of helping is well organized. In the waiting room, there is a display that displays the current number being helped. You watch carefully that screen till it reaches your number and then it is your turn.
We have 2 solutions for this waiting queue management system. A simple one is CounterPoint and an option to use multiple counters and multiple service desks is DataPoint.
CounterPoint is intended for a single counter that can be used e.g. at a bakery or butcher. You can have multiple personnel working, but they work at the same ‘desk’ and serve the next customer from the queue. When a customer is served, they increment the number with a mouse click and the running slide show (a PowerPoint presentation) will display the new number. Read more here
PowerPoint will be one of the easiest ways we could manage a queue because it is familiar with many of us. It would just flash information in the screen and we would immediately know if it’s already our turn. However, with the development of technology, more advanced systems were created. One of these is through the use of SMS.
Ish Bandhu, in his article, will share to us how to build an SMS queueing system.
Build an SMS Queueing System Using Azure and Twilio
Before we work on this we need to make sure we have a paid Azure account. Azure free account does not provide some services which we need to run, like Azure message services and also creating a free account on Twilio for sent messages.
I will discuss the following topics in this article.
- Create mobile app.
- Create API for sent messages.
- Create table for inserting information of sent messages.
- Queue messages.
- Create web jobs, which will run your method continuously.
Now, I will discuss the above defined points for sending a message with the help of Azure API, Web jobs and Twilio. Read more here
Wow! That system would be very useful especially to those who really have a tight schedule and are always busy. Because of this queueing system, you wouldn’t have to wait inside the area for your turn, because you could actually go out and do errands. What you only have to wait for is an SMS from the company saying that it is already your turn. It would also be useful for those who are not patient enough to just sit or stand there waiting.
Queue management systems really contributed to the ease and control of long queues. It is an effective communication and information tool for customers. In addition, it is also a good contributor to the success of a good customer service and a help for the staff and management.