Electronic queuing is an automated way to call waiting customers forward to the next available agent. Retailers and businesses use it in single-line and multiple-line queues in a multi-station environment as well as in dispersed queuing models to facilitate customer flow and agent productivity, reduce wait times, and increase customer satisfaction.
The Basics of Electronic Queuing
Here’s the step-by-step overview of how electronic queuing works: 1. Customers wait in line or register for a service. 2. Agents or cashiers serve customers in a first-come, first-served manner (universally considered the fairest way to wait and be attended to). 3. When an agent is ready for the next customer, she presses the button on her remote call-forward system. 4. Customers are notified that their turn has come via audible cues, digital announcements via screens in the queuing area, or even text-based sms messages. 5. Station lights help guide the customer to the available agent so there is no confusion for the customer or unnecessary down time for the agent. 
The Benefits of Electronic Queuing
Businesses that implement an electronic queuing system will quickly experience the following benefits:
- Better customer flow efficiently and effectively, especially during peak times, speeding up service and reducing customer frustration and stress. The impact on customer satisfaction is tremendous – people can’t help but notice how efficiently customers are being served.
- Take advantage of the time spent waiting by integrating promotion, advertising, and branding to a captive audience. Through digital displays or digital signage, customers are kept busy and distracted. The wait is never completely eliminated, but electronic queuing certainly cuts down on the waiting and, when accompanied with other technological perks, helps keep customers happy.
- Reduces perceived wait times – by as much as 40% – by keeping customers engaged while they are waiting for service. Engagement can come in the form of digital signage, as mentioned, but this is also an opportunity for merchandising to take over some of the work. When people are free to wait without the worry of someone taking their spot or missing their call to a service agent, they’ll feel confident browsing the goods on display or signing up for other offerings you may be promoting.
Electronic queuing is a journey toward greater customer satisfaction, a better awareness for your brand, and a multitude of opportunities to positively impact your bottom line. Learn more about the basics of electronic queuing and how it can work for your business by contacting a Lavi expert today.
