When using the Add Yourself features, whether through Kiosk Mode or the Web Widget, there are several ways you can display an estimated wait to customers. Simply navigate to the Settings > Add Yourself > Main View. Here you can select the wait time that fits your business best. 

People and Groups – Show the number of parties and the total number of people on the list.

People – Show the number of people on the list.

Minutes By Group – Display an estimated time by multiplying the number of parties by a number of minutes you specify. For example, selecting 5 minutes will multiply the number of groups on the list by 5, and present that result as the estimated wait.

Minutes By People – Display an estimated time by multiplying the total number of people on the list by a number of minutes you specify. 

Last Estimated Time – Report the last estimate given by your staff.

List View – Show the public view of the waitlist, so people can see where they are in line.

Hide – No estimates, just go straight to the Add Yourself part.

Here are a few examples:

Need a good ol’ guffaw to get you through a 30-minute wait? How about a giggle while the host squares away your table? Whether you’re queueing for an age or hardly a second, you’ve gotta spend your time doing something.

Since a bout of laughter is scientifically proven to decrease stress—which waiting around can cause—we’re all for a rip-roaring, rib-crabbing roll in the aisles. Snorts, snickers, and smirks are welcome, too.

Ready to get your grin on? We’re dialing up the most GIF-tastic reaction shots to waiting for anything and everything.

When you walk through the door…

Cut to the hostess telling you there’s a wait…

Sigh. OK, ok, how long will that be?

Are you joking?

Are we there yet?

How ‘bout now?

Still a “no,” then. Awesome.

Lookit! That one’s open!

Surely, I’m not invisible.

Come onnnnnn….

When it’s finally your turn.

YES!

We are happy to announce the winners of our special giveaway for Charleston area businesses that we did as part of the opening of our Charleston headquarters. Charlestonians were invited to submit names of local businesses that they’d be happier visiting if the wait wasn’t so bad.  In turn, Waitlist Me would select the top 10 submissions to provide a free year of the Waitlist Me service to help improve their wait experience.

Here are a couple of our favorite submissions:

“This is the best brunch/breakfast/lunch on Folly Beach. The wait is consistently 30-45 minutes, no matter when you visit, and there isn’t really a great waiting area, so most people have to stand in the parking lot.”  –  Lost Dog Café customer

“I love Hyman’s, but it is so crowded in the summer and tourist seasons.  I think locals like me would go there more often if the lines weren’t so bad or there was a better way to know when its your turn” – Hyman’s Seafood customer

“They’re the BEST brunch spot in the area…and they do an awesome dinner service as well. They take reservations, but it’s really tough to walk in and get a spot.” – High Thyme customer

And here is the full list of winners:

• 167 Raw
• High Thyme
• Hymann’s Seafood
• Kaminsky’s
• Laura Albert’s
• Lost Dog Café
• Old South Carriage Co.
• Page’s Okra Grill
• Taco Boy
• Tavern & Table

Customers are feeling the pain of having to wait, and businesses can use Waitlist Me to dramatically improve this experience. Waitlist Me makes it easy to manage a waitlist and send customers text notifications when ready for them, allowing customers the freedom to walk around and enjoy more of the beauty of Charleston while they wait.

You know there are ways you could be using technology more in your restaurant business, but with millions of apps to choose from, how do you know where to start?  Well now there is a comprehensive new resource on the top free apps from the people at Orderly.  They definitely know their stuff when it comes to restaurant technology and have their own free Snap App for paperless invoicing that lets you capture, manage, and share invoices online.

The ultimate list of 50 Free Apps for Restaurants has a lot of great ideas for making managing your restaurant easier. These free apps will help you talk to your customers, organize your to-do list, hire the right people, speed up your processes, and market your business. You’ll find descriptions, features and benefits for your restaurant under each listing and links to download the apps for free.

They are also divided up into categories to help you focus on specific areas of your business that you might want to improve.  The categories are:

• Top 10 Must Have Apps (Waitlist Me is one of these!)
• Best 12 Apps for Restaurant Organization & Productivity
• 6 Apps for Phenomenal Customer Service
• 9 Apps to make restaurant marketing 10X Easier
• 6 Must-Have Apps for Recipe Planning & Organization
• 7 Apps for No-Hassle Stock Photos, Images and Design

Check out the report.  You’ll be glad you did.

Customers that won’t shrink from your wait times, reservations you don’t have to scramble for, and relaxed hosts who’ve got the situation under control. Want to get all that and more before St. Patty’s Day? You don’t need a four-leaf clover or rabbit’s foot. What you need is Waitlist Me.

Here are the features that’ll keep your crowd celebrating—and coming back long after St. Patrick leaves town. Trust us: It’s all that and a pot o’ gold.

At-a-glance waitlist and reservation management keeps employees calm and collected

A frazzled host and a messy front desk is a big red flag for guests who come to you for a fun night on the town. Help your front-of-house crew keep their cool with the waitlist tool that makes checking reservations and adding folks to waitlists simple.  Seeing actual waits next to estimated times helps you give more accurate estimates, and using status colors and notes to organize and keep tabs on waiting customers helps you get them seated more efficiently.

Bonus! Waitlist Me is designed for people like you, me, and your hostess to use intuitively with mere minutes of training. See it in action in this overview video.

Simple texting makes customer communication a cinch

Taking a call from the jammed backseat of an Uber or the midst of a crowded sidewalk can be a struggle. That’s why Waitlist Me Premium lets you text your guests when their table is ready and lets them text back to let you know if they’re on their way or need to cancel. All you have to do is tap a button and boom! Your customers are ready to jig their way to their seats. No muss, no fuss, no empty tables.

Bonus! Text notifications set customers free and keeps frustration at bay. No more hovering around your hostess stand, no more long lines stretched around the corner, and no more crowded lobbies turning off new walk-ins. They can window shop, head to the bar, or wander around the block ‘til you let ‘em know their table is up. Phew!

Public waitlist keeps customers looped in—and off your back

The No.-1 question your host doesn’t want to answer this St. Patty’s Day: Is my table ready yet? A close second: Where are we on the list? Waitlist Me keeps customers in-the-know automatically thanks to one of our most popular features. Once they’re added to your waitlist, they’ll receive a text confirmation that includes a link to your public waitlist. In real time, they’ll see exactly where they are in line along with their wait time.

Bonus! Waitlist Me Pro lets you customize your public waitlist with your restaurant’s branding, videos, images, and text. Use it to post food and drink specials, upcoming events, and more on any available monitor or TV screen.

Multi-device sync and multi-location capabilities for easy management

Whether you’re in charge of one St. Patty’s Day hotspot or a bunch of them, Waitlist Me can help you keep tabs on every table at every location. The app is available on iOS, Android, and Web browsers, and accessible from multiple devices at once. That means you, your hosts, and your management team can keep tabs on how the holiday’s going from wherever you are.