In today’s economy, a queue management system is a must. A great queue software does double-duty, bringing key efficiencies to your business operations while delivering the fast, convenient experience your guests have come to expect.
Waiting in line has been called a “timeless form of torture.” In the U.S. alone, Americans spend roughly 37 billion years waiting in line.
In 2022, Waitwhile surveyed 1000 consumers to better understand how they feel about waiting and where they stand when it comes to standing in line. The results were definitive: people really don’t like to wait. Nearly 75% of consumers associated waiting with negative emotions like annoyance, frustration, impatience, boredom, and disrespect.
And the problem is only getting worse. This year’s follow-up to last year’s inaugural survey, The State of Waiting in Line (2023), found that consumer impatience is skyrocketing: it rose 176% YoY. Waitwhile also found that:
- 57% of consumers feel like waiting in line is a waste of time
- 82% of consumers avoid going to a business because of lines
- If given the choice, 69% of consumers would rather schedule an appointment
- Nearly 60% of consumers prefer virtual queues over physical lines
Consumers have an abundance of choice today–and little patience. If your business provides an inconvenient experience, you run the risk of sending visitors to competitors.
In fact, Waitwhile’s survey found that consumers have little loyalty when they feel like their time is being wasted. More than 40% of consumers said they would go to a competing business or abandon seeking the service or product they wanted altogether just to avoid lines.
Inaction on inefficient waiting experiences is no longer tenable. Businesses need to revamp their approaches to queue management to meet the needs of the modern consumer. Thankfully, there are many options for queue management systems and software that businesses can use to shorten waits, eliminate lines, and increase service speed.
Here are the best queue management systems, software, and apps.
1. Waitwhile
Waitwhile is the #1 easiest to use queue management software according to G2. Its unparalleled design is continually praised for being intuitive by customers, staff, and management alike. Waitwhile requires virtually no training and can be set up in under an hour depending on the complexity of your needs.
Because Waitwhile is fully cloud-based, it requires no download (though an app does exist for businesses). That means visitors can easily join your virtual waitlist or schedule an appointment in a number of ways: by clicking a link, scanning a QR code, or even via text message.
Waitwhile lets guests wait from anywhere and track their status in real-time – while helping businesses automate customer flows, reduce wait times, and speed up operations with machine learning.
Companies like Best Buy, Gojek, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Ace Hardware, Applebee’s, Oklahoma State University, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs use Waitwhile for queue management, appointment scheduling, clienteling, business analytics, and more. A flexible design ensures Waitwhile can be fully customized to how your business runs and a robust API with extensive documentation means that Waitwhile integrates seamlessly into your existing workflows.
Used by thousands of companies across every industry around the world, Waitwhile has saved 200+ million people more than 10,000 years of waiting in line.
Key features
- Virtual queues that let your customers wait from anywhere (instead of standing in line). Guests receive regular updates and a ping when it’s their turn.
- Automated calendar management. Visitors can book and manage appointments on their own. If a customer is running late or needs to cancel, Waitwhile automatically takes care of all the logistics.
- Waitwhile is the only queue management software that seamlessly integrates your virtual waitlist with your appointment bookings, making the wait fair for everyone. Choose whether you want to offer a virtual waitlist, appointments, or both – without having to make any trade-offs.
- Seamless 2-way messaging. Send personalized and automated messages before, during, and after a visit. Address issues or questions in real time and give customers an easy way to get in touch.
- Store customer notes centrally so you never forget a detail or preference.
- Easy-to-understand analytics that make your business run like a dream by uncovering the causes of snags and delays via at-a-glance dashboards.
- Integrations with over 3000+ apps and tools. Use built-in integrations or create your own with a robust API.
- Manage any number of locations. Learn more about Waitwhile for Enterprises here.
- Flexible pricing for businesses of all sizes. Plans start at just $23/month.
- Unlike most other queue management systems, you can try Waitwhile for free, for as long as you want. Get started here.
2. JRNI
Founded in 2008, JRNI is a global enterprise platform specializing in event management, appointment scheduling, and lobby management. JRNI is best for large enterprises whose top priorities revolve around appointment scheduling. The company has particular strengths in banking and financial services, credit unions, events, and governmental organizations.
If your business takes both appointments and walk-ins, however, JRNI may not be your best bet. The platform lacks an integration between queuing and appointment scheduling, meaning you have to run those two workflows separately.
Key features
- JRNI Appointments: an intelligent appointment booking and management solution geared towards enterprises.
- JRNI Queueing: queue and lobby management features that reduce wait times and lines
- Event management features that facilitate one-to-many engagements
- AI-powered automation that integrates AI and natural language processing into key communication channels like email and chat
- Analytics features that help measure the ROI of engagements
3. Qtrac
Founded in 2013, Qtrac is a queue management software geared towards large enterprises in a variety of industries, including retail, telecom, banking, healthcare, transportation, and education.
Though the company has both queue management and appointment scheduling features, it’s limited when it comes to independent customization. If you need custom-built flows for different services or locations, you need to work directly with Qtrac’s customer support team to customize the platform. Qtrac has no self-serve option, so it’s not a great choice for smaller businesses.
Key features
- Virtual queueing that allows guests to add themselves to the queue in a number of ways
- Appointment scheduling features where guests can search for open appointments across locations
- Real-time dashboards that provide actionable insights for improving the service experience
- Live phone and email support
4. Verint
Verint (formally Quidini) is a “retail choreography” solution with appointment booking, queue management, and in-store task management features. The software is also geared towards enterprises with particular strengths in the retail industry, though it also caters to companies across banking, insurance, telecom, and the public sector.
Key features
- Verint Appointment Booking lets customers easily schedule appointments across locations from any channel, including website, mobile app, social media, and online ads
- Queue management features that let walk-in customers join a virtual queue
- Event management software that drives sales and brand loyalty by making it easy for customers to register for in-person or virtual events
- Task management features that allow managers to assign tasks to associates and track progress
- Retail analytics with AI-driven insights on customer experience and store operations
5. Qmatic
Founded in 1981, Qmatic is a company specializing in customer journey management with two key products: the Qmatic Experience Cloud and the Qmatic Orchestra. Qmatic got its start in printer- and ticket-based queue management systems that are powered by hardware, so they are a leader in that respect.
Today, the company is geared exclusively towards enterprises and has particular strengths in catering to businesses looking to operate with an in-person kiosk model.
Key features
- Queue management via tickets, kiosks, and display solutions. Qmatic has also recently introduced virtual queueing solutions.
- Appointment management software that allows customers to book, reschedule, or cancel appointments on their own
- Virtual meetings solutions that allow companies to serve customers remotely
- Business intelligence tools that show real-time data and provide detailed reports
6. Qminder
Started in 2011 as part of the Estonia-based Garage48 startup hackathon, Qminder specializes in queue management – as the company’s name suggests. Qminder is a kiosk-based software, so customers have only two ways of joining a queue: independently via a self check-in kiosk or if a receptionist enters their information for them.
Qminder’s speciality is queue management and its appointment management features are available only for enterprise customers. Like Waitwhile, Qminder has plans for businesses of all sizes, but its pricing is significantly more expensive.
Key features
- Queue management via check-in kiosk in a lobby, reception area, or waiting area
- SMS notifications and chat available on select plans
- Service analytics that report on staff, location, and service performance
- Online support and an online help center. Phone support is available for enterprise customers only.
Meeting consumer expectations with the right queue management system
As our lives continue to be reshaped by rapid digitization, consumer expectations have never been higher. Today’s consumer craves convenience and expedience across every industry and service interaction. With patience on the decline, these business pressures will only increase.
Addressing the type of waiting experience you offer your visitors has become increasingly vital. With the right queue management system, software, or app, you have the opportunity to differentiate your business and instantly impress customers, guests, or visitors.
