12/26/2023 0 Comments Queue line systems![]() ![]() How the wait makes us feel and line fairness (nobody likes line-jumpers) can have a greater impact on our perception of a queue than the amount of time we spend in it. What separates a good queuing experience from a bad one, however, is not just the speed of the line. But a slow line can seem to last forever and can put a drag on an entire day. If they move quickly, they’re soon forgotten. This creates the necessity to prioritize, manage and spread traffic throughout the day and queuing systems, which include ascertaining the customers' immediate needs, are a great way to deal with this issue.Many of us experience multiple queues on an average day. Store traffic during popular hours will likely pose an even greater problem going forward, as the stores might be faced with regulations prohibiting them from letting more than a certain number of people into the store at any given time. This data can prove invaluable in the quest to tailor product and service offerings to customer needs and to allocate the right amount of staff during peak hours. Digital queuing systems can also be used to get customer feedback after every interaction, as they are already used to the technology and thus more likely to comment on their experience. The advantages for businesses are numerous: the information such systems provide indicates how many people are in line at any given time, highlights peak hours and which services are in demand and at which time – and, of course, it helps staff to work efficiently. At the same time, the systems help raise the level of transparency by presenting the customer with accurate waiting time predictions, thus drastically reducing the discomfort of uncertainty. Modern digital queuing solutions can address both these issues: By granting customers the option to spend their time freely between appointments by alerting them when their turn is imminent, customers can fill their time at their own discretion and don’t have to face the frustration of unoccupied time. ![]() ![]() Uncertainty magnifies the stress of waiting, while feedback in the form of expected wait times and explanations for delays improves the tenor of the experience.” In the same article, Stone also makes a good case for keeping customers in the loop about current waiting times: “Our expectations further affect how we feel about lines. Research on queuing has shown that, on average, people overestimate how long they’ve waited in a line by about 36 percent.” “Occupied time (walking to baggage claim) feels shorter than unoccupied time (standing at the carousel). As Alex Stone pointed out in a piece for the New York Times: For the most part, this has to do with how we can bridge the time waiting. We may attribute a period of time falsely to be “longer” than normal or deem another period “shorter” despite it actually exceeding the average waiting time. There is an interesting aspect about the experience of waiting in line: The waiting times we perceive often do not correspond with the actual times we spent in line. It is also possible to simply scan a QR code posted in a shop window. Kiosk-based and mobile queues provide a much more customer-oriented approach and have been implemented in a broad range of variations: In some cases, customers can book time slots online through a web interface or an app, join the queue by using a self-service welcome terminal or ticketing kiosk or queue in on a tablet or maybe even using a robot assistant on site. Additionally, they limit productivity and cause excess stress levels for customers and staff. Long queues, whether they are structured or unstructured, often deter walk-in customers from entering the store. They do not have to wait in the store but rather receive a notification when a spot becomes available. Mobile queues: Rather than queuing up physically, customers use their smartphones. ![]() Kiosks are often used in banks, as well as medical and governmental facilities. Kiosk-based queues: Arriving customers enter basic information into a kiosk, allowing staff to respond accordingly.Examples include taxi queues and waiting for consultants in specialist retail stores. Unstructured queues: Lines form naturally and spontaneously in varying locations and directions.Examples are supermarket checkouts or airport security queues. Structured queues: Lines form in a fixed, predetermined position.Generally speaking, you will likely find one or more of the following types of queue management solutions in a given retail environment: You can view a video of one of his talks here. One of the most referred to researchers on the topic is MIT Professor Richard Larson, who drew from a waiting experience to build what became a career as a researcher in queuing psychology. The topic of managing queues effectively has been a subject in the academic world, but certainly it has remained somewhat of a niche topic. ![]()
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