SourceForge recently sat down with Charlie Meyer, SVP of Sales at Qless, to learn about their queue management and appointment scheduling software.
First and foremost, can you please give us a brief overview of QLess?
QLess is a paradigm-shifting wait management system that allows businesses to eliminate the need for lines. With QLess, people can remotely join virtual lines instead of physical ones. This means people can go about their day, knowing that their spot in line is reserved.
Customers receive periodic updates about their spot in line, updated wait times, and when it’s time to head to their appointment. Customers are also able to text back commands to ask for more time, leave the queue, or let the business know they’re on their way.
Since QLess was founded in 2007, we’ve served more than 100 million people in hundreds of cities across six continents. By using virtual queues, businesses have saved their customers over 7,000 years of waiting in total. People have been able to spend time with family, complete their errands, and get their time back using QLess.
But the customers aren’t the only ones celebrating. Businesses who use QLess have seen an average 113% increase in customer satisfaction, a 35% reduction of no-shows, and quadruple the likelihood of customers returning to their business for a second visit.
What industries do you serve and who are some examples of your current customers?
While we work with dozens of industries, the most common verticals QLess helps are government, higher education, retail, and healthcare. These four industries are commonly plagued with long lines, so we are glad they’ve found the benefits of our queueing and appointment scheduling solutions.
What exactly is queue management and how does it work?
Our queue management system has two important factors that make it a great solution: the freedom to choose when to wait, and the freedom to choose where to wait. What I mean by that is that people can join a line whenever they want from wherever they are. Whether they’re at home, work, or the grocery store, they can join a line and get a highly-accurate wait time forecast.
What are some of the biggest challenges that mobile/touchless queueing solves for?
The problem with physical lines is that it’s a very efficient way to waste time. People might be standing in line for an hour or two when instead they could be taking care of much more important things. Humanity’s greatest asset is time, so spending it standing in line means you’re throwing away the potential to do something meaningful.
Why is a queue management solution necessary for modern organizations?
Using a queue management system, or technology in general, is necessary for modern organizations because we are living in the on-demand generation. People are used to getting everything they need at lightning speed, so standing in line for an extended period of time can seem like an eternity and drive customers away.
Furthermore, customers now have new expectations for technology-assisted experiences. Companies who aren’t looking to technology solutions to improve the customer experience won’t be able to keep up with businesses that are moving to tech solutions. QLess can be the first step for companies who are looking to modernize their spaces and can also be perfect for large businesses who are looking to perfect their customer experience.
How has QLess been able to support organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic?
QLess has allowed businesses to continue their operations without sacrificing the safety of their customers. Whether it’s a college trying to support student services or a doctor’s office trying to help sick patients, QLess allows everyone to stay socially distant until it’s their turn in line. As we like to say, we’ve been practicing social distancing for the last 10 years. We allow people to wait in line wherever they feel comfortable and let staff summon them one at a time.
Tell us more about the QLess platform — what are its key features and capabilities, and what separates QLess from other line management solutions?
There are many amazing features as part of the QLess system, but I’ll talk about the ones that our clients and end-users constantly praise. One of the core components of the QLess system is the innovative wait-time forecasting algorithms. Quite simply, these algorithms can predict highly accurate wait times for customers so they know exactly how long they will be waiting. Once someone joins a queue, they will know whether or not they can go for a drink at the local coffee shop or if they need to stay close by based on their place in the queue. Even if the line is long, people tend to be much more satisfied when they know exactly how long they’ll have to wait. Secondly, QLess allows end-users to join a line through multiple channels. While some systems only allow you to join one way, QLess allows people to join via our app, SMS text, or on-site kiosks, so no one gets left behind.
Is there anything noteworthy on the roadmap that’s on the roadmap?
We have a lot of exciting new features coming in 2021 and beyond. Enhanced capabilities around VIP queueing, priority lines, and integration with video conference solutions to provide virtual video queueing seamlessly. We are constantly trying to improve the experience for our clients and end-users who use QLess every day. Our mission is to eliminate physical lines across the planet, so we are excited to constantly innovate and improve the QLess experience.
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