It is easy to customize Waitlist Me to your business needs.  You can streamline the process of adding customers to the waitlist by choosing the level of information you need and by removing unnecessary steps.  Just tap on the gear icon in the app to get to the settings, then go to Customization and Adding Customers. The options include:

Assignments: These are used by businesses that assign resources to customers. For example, a stylist in a salon, a table in a restaurant, or an exam room in a medical center. If you don’t assign resources to customers or you don’t want to see the options when adding customers to the waitlist or reservations, you can hide this option.

Group size: This is helpful when the number of people in a party varies, such as in a restaurant. For a business such as a car detailing facility where group size doesn’t matter, this option can be turned off.

Demographics: In some businesses, it’s important to know if the group includes children, or whether the clients are male or female. The simple demographic tracking lets you choose between adults/children/seniors, while the full demographics also gives options for gender. Choosing the Off option will remove this completely.

Image: Full Demographics, Simple Demographics, and No Demographics

Category colors: Category colors can be used as a simple way to identify and sort different groups in the waitlist. A restaurant might choose to use the color green for groups that request outdoor seating, while a spa may assign colors for different services. This option can be turned off and would no longer show up when adding names to the list.

Notes: The notes field lets you record important information, such as the service the client is requesting. The option can be switched off if the notes field will not be used.

Image: The streamlined look of removing the Group Size, Demographics, Category Colors, and Notes.

History: If it’s important to see some stats on past customer visits, leave the History field turned on.

Wait Time Quotes: For those businesses who do not give an estimated time, the wait time could be switched off. For those who do give a time, there are two options. Normal will be 5 minutes, while Last Time will show the last wait time selected.

Image: Choose to have the spinner default to 5 minutes or to the last wait time quoted.

While most of the places that use NoshList are restaurants, we have seen more and more businesses from different industries use NoshList to manage customer waits. The addition of our new reservations feature has made NoshList even more appealing to any business that schedules future appointments, whether they have a walk-in waitlist or not.

Not all businesses have WiFi or want to get an iPad or Android tablet though, so it is great for those businesses that NoshList also runs on any computer right from the browser and also on Clover. So we were thrilled to be able to join First Data in their booth at the RetailNow conference highlighting Clover and some of the top apps running on Clover.

Here are some shots from the event:

College students might be coffee-gulping their way through mid-terms, but it’s not exams you’re worried about. Nope, it’s the week after exams that’s got you crossing your fingers and double-checking your inventory. Spring break is almost here, and if you manage a hotel in any of the United States’ many sun-soaked destinations, making it through the rowdiest 7 days of the year is all you can think about.

Take a deep breath, though, boss. Waitlist Me is here to help you make everything go according to plan. Here’s exactly how you can put it to work when the college kids descend.

Cater to your millennial crowd with free texting features

Why talk when you can text? That’s the millennial mindset. You get it, and so do we.

Waitlist Me Premium offers unlimited texting that allows you to notify your guests when you’re ready for them.  It also lets them text back simple replies to let you know if they’re on their way or need to give up their spot on the list. It’s simple and it’s already set up for you, making it your no-brainer communication method of choice this spring break.

Juggle walk-ins and reservations at property restaurants

Go ahead and toss your grease pen and reservation book in the trash—Waitlist Me is all you need. Booking ahead can be touch-and-go, but your younger guests might just surprise you.

Our app lets your on-property restaurants manage both reservations and a waitlist on one simple screen. And because Waitlist Me makes it easy to see how many people are waiting and how long they have been waiting, you’ll be able to quote a more accurate wait time or ETA to anyone who walks through your door.

Prevent hostess stand pile-ups with on-the-go waitlists

Waitlist Me Premium does its best to keep your hosts focused on customer service, not fielding “add me to the list!” phone calls and requests for wait time updates from a hoard of waiting guests.

How? With two key features. You can add our Web Widget to your website or social media account to let folks join your waitlist from wherever they are, whenever they want, like when from their hotel room as they’re heading down to dinner. Once they’ve joined the list, the Public Waitlist lets them see from their phone where they are in line without flagging down your staffers. And you don’t have to do anything.

Organize special events and programming

From pub trivia in Panama City Beach to karaoke nights in Las Vegas, we know you’ve got a slew of crowd-pleasers lined up for your spring breakers. Our app lets your guests party it up exactly the way you intended, without worrying about missing their time in the spotlight.

Waitlist Me Premium allows you to set up a self-check in kiosk on an iPad or Android tablet, where people can sign up for your offerings on their own time, and then head back to their table to yuk it up with their pals while they wait. Pair it with a public waitlist display on any available monitor or television, and your party prep can’t get any easier.

Eliminate the beach-chair (or pool deck) free-for-all

Mayhem? Not on your watch. Keeping track of your offerings helps you ensure that you’re making the most of them—and that you know what’s getting the most use and what’s falling by the wayside.

Waitlist Me Pro keeps your hotel property’s playground organized, no matter if you’re tracking lounge chairs or umbrellas, jet skis or volleyball courts. Scattered single seats nobody wants to take? Not with you in charge. Frustrated game-players tired of waiting their turn? Forget about it. Now, they know they can hit the snack bar before their next game.

The demise of fast fashion darling Forever 21 might have you reaching for a Xanax, but should it? Not necessarily. After all, while one empire has fallen, some fast fashion brands are thriving.

Look at Target! Their private label pivot in 2018 has been hugely successful. Look at Old Navy! The Gap, Inc. brainchild plans to open 800 stores in the next decade. Look at Gymboree! The beloved clothing brand for babies and toddlers is making a comeback as a pop-up shop concept within The Children’s Place retail outlets.

See? There’s no need to panic. From new merchandising tactics to rebooted branding and marketing initiatives, there are all sorts of ways to keep a fast fashion business profitable. One of our favorite ways to keep your retail venture in the green is to improve your customer experience.

Not sure how to wow your customers? Keep reading for our favorite strategies.

Make customers feel welcome

One prominent reason many consumers turn to online shopping: pushy sales tactics that make them feel uncomfortable. While you should always greet walk-ins with a smile and a cheery “hello,” it’s time to reconsider retail standards that feel like the opening of a sales pitch. Instead of, “Can I help you with anything in particular?” try deploying friendly small talk. A comment about the rainy weather or a compliment on the cute sweater they’re wearing will make the customer’s experience feel more conversational than transactional.

And speaking of conversation, there’s no reason for your employees to avoid it. We’ve all been the only customer in an otherwise-empty shop, shrinking under the microscopic gaze of associates. Awkward! While private conversations should be kept off the sales floor, bantering about TV shows, sports teams, and other harmless topics can make customers feel at ease in your store. Remind them, though, that their body language is important: They need to look approachable 24/7 and they should always be paying attention to customers, ready to offer help on finding a size or snagging a dressing room.

Eliminate long lines

Online fast fashion retailers like Amazon and ASOS struggle with shopping cart abandonment. Brick-and-mortar retailers should be concerned about a similar situation: long waits for fitting rooms and cash registers. 

Lines have the tendency to intimidate rather than to encourage. Many shoppers will load up their arms with potential purchases, then turn to the line for the changing room and wonder if all these goodies are worth the interminable wait. One solution is to use a waitlist and appointment management app like Waitlist Me, which makes long lines disappear by taking them digital. Retail staffers can hold on to the merchandise customers are interested in and let them continue browsing while they wait. A quick text lets shoppers know when they reach the front of the line.

Improve staff productivity

Top-notch customer service starts with staffing. If your sales associates are overrun by to-dos or traffic, they’ll be too frazzled to show the level of service that results in sales and customer retention. Adding an app like Waitlist Me to your toolbox can help retail store managers make smarter real-time decisions based on how busy the store is.

Waitlist Me allows managers to easily view things like how many customers are waiting for help or a fitting room, and how long fitting rooms have been occupied. Keeping tabs on traffic patterns means that they know where bottlenecks are emerging so they can direct employees accordingly before customer experiences start to suffer.

The holidays are coming up. You know what that means: a rush of customers eager to snap up the next big tech toy.  If you can’t manage the wait times effectively, though, your customers are guaranteed to be toe-tapping their way around your displays as they wait for the next available associate. Or worse, they may just head to another store.

Waitlist Me Pro can help you turn your customers’ visit to your store into an experience they’ll be more satisfied with. Think: more referral business, glowing Google reviews, and kudos from corporate. Read on for ways our pro-level app will help you do business better.

Schedule your staff more efficiently

Prepare for the storm by tracking your team in real time and accessing reports on staffers’ past performance.

Waitlist Me Pro’s hallmark feature is resource management and reporting. The app lets you assign your associates to different areas of the store (or to different tasks), track how much time they spend with each customer, and see who is working the most and who is working the least. With this data in hand, you’re better prepared to make decisions about serving customers as things get busy.

Add promotions to your public waitlist

Running a special on certain devices or services? Sponsoring an old phone holiday drive? Recycling batteries or chargers? Let your customers know when they check in, thanks to Waitlist Me Pro’s customizable public waitlist.

This pro-level feature lets you add whatever HTML you want to the waitlist. You could include graphics, coupon codes, videos, or plain text, in addition to changing the page’s colors, adding your logo, and swapping out the wording to bring your brand voice to the app’s functionality.

Let customers add themselves to your waitlist, no matter where they are

With Waitlist Me Pro, customers no longer have to start their waiting from your store. They can use the web widget—which Pro allows you to customize more—to add themselves to your waitlist from wherever they are. It’s web and mobile friendly, which means they can access it from home or on the go.

Combine the add-me remote feature with our public waitlist and text notifications, and you’ve got the ideal customer experience. Waitlist Me Pro lets your customers live their lives, run their errands, and make their appointments—and they’ll never worry about losing their place in line.

Quote more accurate wait times

There is nothing worse than waiting around twice as long as the time initially quoted. The app has always helped store associates predict more accurate ETAs. But with Waitlist Me Pro, you can take making better estimates to the next level.

By being able to see in real-time which of your staffers are busy and which are available as well as how much time they’ve spent with each customer and when, on average, they should finish up. With Pro, you have more data at your fingertips to make smarter decisions faster.