Article

Four ways to maximize the efficiency of your waiting lines

Facilitating the optimal movement of customers from the start of a waiting line to the end is critical as any kinks can significantly impact customer satisfaction.

July 17, 2014

By Perry Kuklin, Lavi Industries

Facilitating the optimal movement of customers from the start of a waiting line to the end is critical as any kinks can significantly impact customer satisfaction, contribute to reneging, and ultimately impact sales.

Industry-leading companies are successful in maintaining the efficiency of their waiting lines. Let’s take a closer look at four simple queue management strategies that can build optimal operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Design for first-timers

Your first step in designing or redesigning your waiting line is to observe the habits of your first-time customers as they make their way to and through the queue. What are their natural patterns? Do they easily find their intended destinations? If not, what were the hang ups?

Use this intel to design or adjust your customer flow plan to mitigate such situations as first-timers wandering aimlessly in search of the queue’s entrance or stopping dead in their tracks trying to decipher the directions on your signs. These two situations typically result in confusion, dissatisfaction, and ultimately a lost customer.

Instead, be meticulous in displaying clear, concise instructions and information to not only locate the queue, but easily navigate through it towards the point of transaction.

Be able to change queue configurations on the fly

Your establishment incurs both expected and unexpected shifts in customer traffic throughout a day, a week, a month, or from season to season. Be prepared to adjust your queue configuration as quickly as the change in customer flow occurs to maintain the maximum efficiency of your line.

The most effective strategy in keeping up with the changing in-flow of customers includes monitoring the waiting line in real time and training managers to react in a timely manner deploying the proper equipment and staff members to alter queue configurations before lines get too long or customer confusion occurs.

Choose clarity over creativity

The efficiency of your waiting line relies heavily on wayfinding signage as it provides the necessary directions to not only find the queue’s entrance, but to smoothly navigate the waiting line itself. We can all agree that creative signage that is humorous and entertaining can be fun to develop, but if you sacrifice the clarity of your message your customer flow will turn into no flow.

Your only goal with wayfinding signage is to get people where they need to go. Keep messages clear and concise, not too subtle, but most certainly not too elaborate or overwrought.

Plan the entrance and exit

Vital to the success of your queue, place equal importance on planning the entrance and the exit as the customer experience does not conclude until that customer walks out the door.

Think about how ease of access and creating an easy-to-find queue entrance will mitigate confusion, alleviate challenges for customers, and facilitate customer flow from step one. Use the proper queuing products and controls (stanchions, retractable belts, signage, gates, barriers, etc.) to help achieve these goals.

Finally, create a clear “wait point” that marks the end of the queue. The last thing you need is misunderstandings at the final step before the transaction occurs.

Conclusion

Prepare for the unexpected at all times with well-designed waiting lines, prompt reactions to influxes in waiting customers and the proper equipment for your business’ situation. Whether you are able to predict the number of customers that will be navigating your waiting line at a specific time or not, the efficiency of the queue is crucial in the process of improving the customer experience while facilitating smooth customer flow.

(Photo by fly.)