Friday, July 27th, 2018 .

Beware of these 5 types of waiting maladies that can infect customers

We could wax poetic about Waitlist Me’s bells and whistles for hours (and we have!). But, honestly, one of our favorite bonuses that comes with implementing a waitlist and reservation app is getting rid of bad waiting room symptoms that begin to infect customers.

Let’s take a look at some of the annoying waiting maladies and behaviors that Waitlist Me helps do away with (and appreciate just how much better the customer experience is with a waitlist app). Here are 5 classic moves:

The toe-tapper

Who needs music wafting from a speaker when you could keep time to the beat of the toe-tapper’s sneaker on your tile floor? We joke, of course. We know you’re turning up the dial and pricing out carpet in order to drown this sucker out. Their tap-tap-tap won’t make tables turn over any faster, but it certainly can drive your host crazy (along with anyone else who’s waiting). The rhythmic nature of the toe tapping makes it more likely to spread to a variety of fidgeting activities around the room, creating a rather tense environment.

The eagle-eye

We’re certain some eagle-eyes honed their behavior early on as hall monitors. A training ground of tardy students prepared them well for their next mission: us. Now, they’ve set their sights on guests lingering too long over dessert and front-of-house staff dilly-dallying behind the hostess stand. Ever feel like you’re being…watched? We know exactly who to pin that on.

The disappearing-act

Some people have the gift of invisibility. They can disappear into a crowd, blend in seamlessly, fade into the background or jump right into the action like they were born there. This disappearing-act pulls a fast one, all right—right out your door without so much as a word of warning. Will you see them again? Sure, about 20 minutes after you call their name (and give their spot to the next person in line).

The slump-and-sigh

The burdens of the world have to rest on somebody’s, shoulders. Why not the slump-and-sigh? After all, that’s what it looks like once you give them their ETA. They take their seat with a sigh that bespeaks inner turmoil greater than 10 minutes ‘til “the doctor can see you now.” And if they have to stand? This one morphs into the hunch-and-groan. Sigh.

The watch-watcher

Need to know the time? There’s always someone in your waiting room you can ask, although we’re not entirely sure you’d want to. Whether they’re old-school with a wrist watch, analog with a wall clock, or high-tech with the latest iPhone, the watch-watcher tracks their own countdown, thankyouverymuch. And if your wait-time guesstimate is off by so much as a minute, well, you can expect to hear about it. This another of the more infectious behaviors. If you have a diligent watch-watcher in the group, you’ll definitely see an uptick in the unconscious time checking behaviors from others in the room.

The solution

You can’t always get rid of waiting, but Waitlist Me helps you make the wait experience better by giving guests more visibility into the wait process and the flexibility to leave the waiting room and be notified with a text when you are ready for them.

Let the toe-tapper and eagle-eye work off some of their nervous energy by walking around outside while they wait. Help the disappearing-act know the right time to be back with a well-timed text message. Take some of the worries of endless or unpredictable waits off the slump-and-sighs shoulders. And show the watch-watcher you care by using real time wait tracking to give better estimates and deliver on the promised wait times.

Friday, April 10th, 2020 .

How to make waiting safer at medical offices during the coronavirus crisis

Nobody knows better than our pandemic first responders how important it is these days to safeguard patients and healthcare workers. Doctor’s offices, urgent care facilities, and medical centers are also taking new steps to ensure the safety of their patients and staff. 

Waitlist Me makes it easy to improve waiting experiences and cut down on crowds and lines.  Here are some ways doctor’s offices and medical facilities are using our waitlist and reservation app during the coronavirus crisis.

#1. Make waiting safer for everyone

The fewer people you have in your waiting room, the better, whether social distancing policies are in place or not. From restaurants offering take-out to retailers promoting curbside pick-up, there’s been a tremendous uptick in businesses encouraging customers to spend as little time as possible inside their brick-and-mortar locations.

Healthcare facilities can do the same. When patients arrive for their appointments, they can be added to your waitlist and asked to wait in their cars until they can be seen by a medical professional. When a doctor, nurse, or P.A. is ready for them, simply send them a text alert to let them know to come inside.  Some places are even doing simpler screenings or check ups in the cars to avoid patients having to come inside at all.  

#2. Decrease the amount of contact required

With highly contagious illnesses like coronavirus spreading through cities like wildfire, office staff must be cautious about all the little things that were standard just a month ago, like sharing pens, passing clipboards, and opening doors.

Limiting contact between individuals, whether they’re patients, caregivers, or administrators, is key. Automating doors is one way to upgrade your office with an eye toward the future. Going digital with your paperwork is another. It also has the added benefits of decreasing in-office wait times and freeing up staff from data entry tasks.

With our add-yourself web widget, you can add Waitlist Me to this list of helpful no-contact improvements. Patients can check themselves in using their smartphones from anywhere and receive a confirmation message.  Text them when you are ready and you can even view their replies if they are running a few minutes late or letting you know when they have arrived. With Waitlist Me Pro there are also options to send custom responses to the texts patients send, like to reply with an update on the estimated wait remaining.

#3. Improve the overall waiting experience

We’re pretty sure no one really enjoys sitting in waiting rooms for their turn to see a physician. Flipping through months-old magazines amid who-knows-what illnesses? That’s not anyone’s idea of a good time.

Many offices are using Waitlist Me’s online features that can be viewed in phone browsers to give patients more control over how long—and where—they wait. With the widget, individuals can check in for their appointments (or for open clinic hours) from the comfort of their homes. Then, they can check the public waitlist feature to ensure a timely arrival when a healthcare provider is ready to see them. The public waitlist lets them know how many people are ahead of them in line and how long the estimated queue time is.

Saturday, August 14th, 2021 .

Don’t Get Left Behind

The pandemic has changed many aspects of business and everyday life, and the importance of customer convenience is absolutely not going anywhere. Consumers have become used to almost every interaction being as fast, simple, and convenient as possible, and this trend is encompassing every industry in our lives.

Grocery shoppers are still doing curbside pickup, ordering an entire household’s supplies with the tap of a few buttons.

The routine of getting a haircut includes reserving a time slot online at a salon or joining the waitlist at a barbershop.

Getting your car worked on at the dealership can now include them sending you a text when that brake job is done.

Society is quickly learning that this isn’t a fad like the Atkins diet in the early 2000s. This way of doing business is here to stay, and businesses that fail to adapt are simply going to get left behind. Customers are done with wasting away in a lobby or waiting room when they could be relaxing in the café down the street.

Here’s a quick 10 second thought exercise: Let’s say you bring your dog to one of two groomers that are right next to each other in the same strip mall. These groomers are nearly identical, and there is about a one hour service time for both of them. The only difference between the two? One of them has an electronic service that will text you when Fluffy is ready, allowing you to grab a milkshake at your favorite burger joint down the street. The other groomer has a lovely waiting room that offers the luxurious aroma therapy of wet dog scent, and the tranquil sounds of a dozen dogs that very much do not want to be getting a bath. Which would you choose?

Everyone has to wait in life, but not everyone has to wait the same. Processes that were previously mere conveniences have turned into must-have features across many industries, with wait times and crowds being two of the main factors that need to be optimized.

Keeping customers waiting can have a devastating impact on any business. They might spend less, leave a bad review, or walk out your door, never to return. Waitlist Me is an app that keeps customers happier while they wait.

How do we do that, exactly? It’s a breeze. Waitlist Me brings your waitlist from a crowd in your lobby to an easy-to-manage digital interface. Our app makes it simple to see waiting customers at a glance, provide accurate wait estimates that are tracked in real time, and notify customers with a text or automated call message when their table is ready. It also has a number of other features like reservations, table/resource management, and the ability for customers to add themselves from a kiosk, your website, Google, or even a QR code. Letting customers join the list before arriving and skip waiting in the lobby is a great recipe for customer happiness, which can also lead to higher revenues and better reviews.  

Tuesday, September 18th, 2018 .

Ways Waitlist Me helps ballpark restaurants win the food and bev game

Peanuts and Crackerjacks are just scratching the savory surface of food and beverage offerings available at ballparks this summer.

With everything from craft beer and swanky cocktail bars to gourmet hot dogs and full-service restaurants, baseball stadiums are redefining what it means to take in a ballgame with family and friends. Fans don’t have to splurge on box seats for a VIP experience—and with Waitlist Me on tap at your hostess stand, you can treat every guest to a top-notch experience, guaranteed.

Here’s how a waitlist and reservation app can help you hit this summer out of the park.

Let customers shop, wander, and snap selfies while they wait

Your diners have better things to do than to tap their toes outside your restaurant or give your host the ol’ stink-eye. With our signature Text Notification feature, Waitlist Me sets them free. They can stroll through the concourse, take pictures with players, try on new snap-backs—it’s all fair game. When they hit the top of your list, you can let them know with the push of a button. How’s that for easy?

Attract new diners despite long lines

Because our app lets you alert guests by text when it’s their turn to take a seat, there’s no reason for them to cool their heels in the 10 feet waiting area surrounding your restaurant’s entrance. While your waitlist grows, the line outside your door doesn’t have to. That means new customers can hop on your list without being deterred by other diners.

Allow guests to hop in line from their seats

Whether their stomachs are growling before the first pitch or they get the munchies at the bottom of the fifth, Waitlist Me’s Add Yourself feature lets diners join your waitlist from wherever they are, whenever they want. Thanks to our app, there’s no need to for customers to beat the crowd. They can eat on their own time, without missing a single play.

Ditch constant ETA questions

When’s the table going to be ready? Is it our turn yet? Where are we on the list? We don’t have to ask if you’re tired of these questions. We know you were done with ‘em a couple seasons ago! That’s why we built a Public Waitlist feature—so that guests can check their spot in line straight from their smartphones or from a handy monitor or TV display you can set up in a snap. Phew!

Eliminate clutter and confusion at your hostess stand

Trash your mess of sticky notes and dog-eared memo books and say buh-bye to the grease pen. Waitlist Me is an intuitive, easy-to-use solution to losing reservations and keeping track of your waitlisted parties. Our app is designed to give your front-of-house staff the information and tools they need to manage your guests’ dining experience with just one glance.

 

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 .

iPhone and Android Waitlist Apps are Here

Have a smart phone? Then you can use NoshList at your restaurant. We are happy to announce that our popular tablet waitlist app is now available for iPhone, iPod Touch and Android phones. It is free for download at the App Store and on Google Play Store.

NoshList mobile apps

The new apps make it even easier for a restaurant to run an organized, efficient and measurable waitlist that also provides valuable guest and operational analytics. The addition of this mobile functionality to the original iPad app gives restaurant operators the flexibility to use other iOS or Android when preparing to seat restaurant diners. The mobile app also removes the barrier of needing an iPad to use the solution by offering the NoshList platform on multiple devices.

A fully featured restaurant waitlist and guest-management solution, NoshList notifies diners via unlimited free text messaging and automated phone call alerts that their tables are ready, replacing paper lists, microphones and alert buzzers.

In addition to the unlimited free version of NoshList, there is NoshList Premium for $49 per month, per restaurant. Premium features include two-way text messaging, table number assignments, in-app statistics, designated local phone numbers, and 30-day analytics. The Premium features are only currently available for the iPad app and on the website, and will soon be added to the new mobile version.

NoshList is now in use in more than 2,250 restaurants nationwide. Clients include Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Buffalo Wild Wings, Miller’s Ale House and many other national and regional brands. To date, more than 8 million diners have been seated with NoshList since the company’s launch in February 2012, making it the fastest growing restaurant waitlist platform in history.