8 Key Benefits of a Virtual Queue

Virtual queuing is gaining notice across industries as a powerful way to transform the way customers wait for service. By removing the need for a physical waiting line, a virtual queue management system removes the disdain customers often feel when approaching or standing idly in line. Here are eight key benefits your business can realize with a virtual queue:

1. Enrich the Wait-Time Experience

Let’s be real: No one likes being stuck in a physical waiting line. Even if you’re not in a hurry, being forced to stand in a slow-moving queue in order to get what you want can easily breed dissatisfaction with the customer service experience as a whole. Virtual queue solutions free up a customer’s wait time, giving them freedom to spend their time in other ways. Some people are simply happy to be able to sit down instead of stand in a line, while others relish the ability to walk away from the service area and tend to other matters or continue shopping without losing their place in line.

2. Reduce Perceived Wait Time

It can be argued that the perceived wait time is more important than the actual wait time. A customer might only be standing in line for 60 seconds, but one minute can quickly feel like 10 to the impatient customer who is resentful of being behind a slow-moving clerk or other patron. By allowing customers to join a virtual queue, register for their place in line, and offer transparency with an estimated wait time, you stabilize the perceived wait time and eliminate uncertainty. Plus, the virtual queue dramatically reduces perceived wait times when customers have the ability to relax, browse, shop, or even stay home while waiting for service.

3. Create More Satisfied, Happy Customers

You may be reluctant to tell a customer that their wait is going to be lengthy, but research has shown that known wait times are more tolerable than unknown wait times. Customers have expectations about how their experience with your business is going to go, and if you don’t temper those expectations, they can easily turn to dissatisfaction.

Publishing wait times isn’t the kiss of death—it’s actually a way of keeping expectations in check. With the registration process that’s part of the virtual queue, you can communicate to customers what’s happening and when they can expect to receive service—and this is a surefire way to reduce customer stress.

4. Enhance Customer Flow

There is nothing worse than standing in a lengthy line only to discover when you reach the end of it that you were in the wrong line all along—and that you have to start over to get the service you need. Virtual queuing systems automate a multiple-service process that allows customers to move through a series of services without having to re-queue for each one. Registering for a spot in the virtual queue can also be accompanied by information gathering, which allows service agents to sort customers into the correct queues right from the start so there is no confusion and the wait isn’t longer than necessary.

5. Improve Productivity

You always want to find ways for your staff to work faster and better. Efficiency will take on a whole new meaning when a virtual queue is involved. Queuing technology ensures the next customer is served in the right order, sent to the right service agent, and efficiently re-queued as needed.

6. Increase Efficiency

The more you know about your customers, the more targeted and helpful your service to them can be. With virtual queuing, you can know from the start if your customer has queued up to buy a new mobile plan or just purchase a phone accessory. There’s a big difference between the two, and having detailed information allows your business to effectively and efficiently match customers with the proper service employee. You can identify customers’ needs early with virtual queuing registration questions about the language a customer speaks, whether they meet all pre-qualifiers for the requested service or have preferred status.

7. Reduce Actual Wait Time

When service agents have access to the big picture that’s available through virtual queuing technology, they will serve customers better and more accurately. And as agents become more productive, it follows that service becomes more efficient. The result? Actual wait times naturally decrease, and that makes customers and businesses equally happy.

8. Increase Sales

If your business is known for lengthy or slow lines, customers may feel the need to jump into the queue earlier than they might want to in order to beat the rush or prevent the need to wait for an overly long period of time. But a virtual queue eliminates this waiting worry. Because customers are free to wait for service elsewhere, they are more likely to continue shopping while they wait to check out, or to sit at the bar while they wait for a gaming table, adding incremental sales.

Ultimately, the virtual queue is a buffet of benefits for customers and businesses alike. Virtual queuing solutions are the next wave of technology for businesses, offering you so many ways to be more efficient and more helpful so that your customers have better and more pleasant experiences while they wait. To learn more about how virtual queueing can help your business thrive, download our ebook, Why Virtually Queued Customers Buy More.