El "Anti-juego" de las filas de espera

Not too long ago a video game was created that literally entailed standing on a sidewalk in a queue. Waiting in Line 3D had its “protagonist” do nothing but wait in an endless line with the goal of staying awake.

Photo: ABC News

How did you keep your character awake? By punching yourself! Punch yourself too often, and you died, too little and you fell asleep. And yes, that was the entire game. It was created as an “anti-game,” meaning it was purposely designed to be uneventful and non-engaging. With that said tens of thousands of people played the game within 48 hours of its launch.

While these game enthusiasts chose to painfully wait in fictitious lines, we all know the pain of waiting in unavoidable real-life queues. Your goal as a company should be to make sure your customers are not left wanting to punch themselves like the character in the game. Boredom and frustration have no place in your business’ queue.

So, what are you going to do about it? There are numerous queue management tools available today that will help you “wake up” your waiting line, keeping your customers engaged and easing the frustration that often accompanies waiting in line. To start, pay attention to the basics of the queue structure. Include a clearly marked queue entrance and create an easily navigated line to the starting point of the queue. No matter how “cool” your waiting line is no one will be happy if they cannot find the entrance or effortlessly proceed to the point of transaction. Then, figuratively and literally, pump up the volume utilizing today’s queuing technology that allows you to bring to life any customer experience that you can imagine.

From hands-on displays to digital media and mobile apps, engaging customers can be approached from multiple angles. Tap into your customers’ needs. Why do they come in to your place of business? What can you offer them that’s new and exciting and in line with their consumer goals? This is your time to leave an impression. Remember that the waiting and checkout experience are the last things your customers experience before leaving your place of business. They may have had a great shopping experience, but the waiting line can make everything else up to that point obsolete. Do not let your queue turn into an “anti-game.”