Sometimes if you press the notification button to send a text message to a customer and don’t see them right away, you may press the notification button again to trigger an automated call notification.  Premium subscribers have a list of several pre-recorded messages to choose from. Pro subscribers have all these options, and now have an additional option to type in their own message and have it played using text-to-speech. This provides more flexibility for what you may want to tell your customers when you notify them.

Changing these settings can be done on the Waitlist Me website, under Account > Settings > Notifications. Here you can select one of the pre-recorded messages, or create your own by flipping the switch to On under Custom Phone Notification. Use up to 160 characters to craft a message that fits your business, pick a voice option, and save! Now your customers will hear this message when they receive a notification call.

Waitlist Me assigns a unique phone number to your account for sending text and call notifications.  If customers try to call back, they will hear a message instructing them to call the business directly. This message can also be tailored to reflect your needs. Simply type in the message you would like clients to hear, decide on a voice, and save your work.

What’s the secret to transforming a run-of-the-mill retail experience into one customers flock to? It’s all about the customer service. Waitlist management apps are a not-so-obvious way to one-up your competitors and wow your customers. Here’s how you can use an app like Waitlist Me in any retail setting:

Cell phone store

Selecting a new smartphone is a blast. Sitting through the activation process, though, is less than thrilling. Waitlist Me lets you set them free. Our public waitlist feature allows you to display your waitlist and an estimated time of completion on a screen in your store, which means they can wander around, play with other devices, and shop accessories while they wait.

Electronics store

Laptops, cameras, home entertainment systems—shoppers making big-ticket purchases in these departments depend on your sales associates’ expertise. But let’s face it: When customers compete to flag down help, nobody wins. With Waitlist Me, you can greet shoppers when they walk in, add them to your waitlist, and assign them to the staff member or department that can help them best.

Jewelry store

When people are making emotional purchases—say, when they’re buying engagement rings or anniversary gifts—they want to forge a personal connection with sales associates. Waitlist Me allows stores to check shoppers in (and add them to a waistlist), send them off to browse, and give them your full attention when it is their turn. Bonus: Waitlist Me manages reservations, too, making by-appointment shopping an easy option.

Athletic store

Specialty equipment requires specialty knowledge. Whether your team are helping moms pick out their kid’s first pair of cleats or long-time athletes dive in to a new sport, the education you’re giving them is what makes sales happen. Leverage that knowledge base by offering your customers a waitlist experience to ensure that they get one-on-one assistance—and walk away with the perfect product for their needs.

Clothing boutique

Short on dressing rooms and jammed with customers? Waitlist Me lets you handle a busy afternoon with ease. The app allows you to create a waitlist for your dressing rooms and display the public waitlist feature on a screen in your store. Customers can see where they are in line in a glance, and keep shopping while they wait.

Consignment store

A loyal clientele is your bread and butter. Keep them coming back with their best items to consign by streamlining your valuation process. Add them to a waitlist and encourage them to run errands, head to work—whatever it is they need to do! Waitlist Me’s text alert features lets you instantly inform your clients when their product estimates are ready.

Department store

Specialty services like personal shoppers and in-store tailoring are assets that your retail business ought to make the most of. Using a waitlist app to manage these services will give customers a VIP experience while also improving your efficiency. Because the Waitlist Me app syncs across multiple devices, customer service desks can field personal shopping requests while sales associates and cashiers can add guests to tailoring waitlists.

Home design studios

When custom orders are the norm, long check-out times come standard. Once your design consultants have the details down, there’s no need for customers to remain chained to a desk. Instead, add them to a waitlist and let them wander through your showroom while your associates put together the order details. Waitlist Me’s text alert feature lets you bring them back to swipe and sign, and then send them on their way.

Ah, the sounds of the season are upon us! Tinkling bells, rustling wrapping paper, and the voices of children and adults alike, eager to jump into winter with both snow-booted feet.

Here at Waitlist Me, we’re all about traditions—well, some traditions. The seasonal kind that come with snow, Santa hats, and sweet treats? Bring it on! The long lines of, well, last year? No thanks. Our app puts more ease into the winter season, which helps everyone get the most out of it. For businesses, it means more loyal customers walking in the door and opening their wallets. For consumers, it means a better time no matter what they’re up to.

Wondering how a waitlist app can make a difference when it comes to winter traditions? Here’s the proof in the figgy pudding:

Ice skating

Wobbling your way around a rink is a wintry rite of passage. A digital waitlist clears your lobby, allowing wannabe Olympians to grab a bite to eat or watch the crush while they wait to lace up a pair of skates. It’ll cut down the line intimidation factor, which can send fresh faces running back out into the parking lot for fear of a long wait. Plus, it’ll help your skate attendants focus on the customer at hand rather than the pile-up behind them.

Holiday shopping

Playing elf for your nearest and dearest isn’t nearly as simple as it sounds. That’s where your sales associates come in. Put their product knowledge and creativity to work—and get the most out of your personnel scheduling—by creating an in-store personal shopping service. Waitlist Me makes it easy to manage. With its notes feature, you can leverage your employees’ strong suits. To utilize it, ask customers what they’re looking for when you add them to the list. Then, assign sales associates accordingly depending on their specialties.

Pictures with Santa

Corralling kids is a headache on the best of days. With candy canes and chocolate bars adding to the frenzy? Well, you’re looking at a true Nightmare Before Christmas situation. If you’re running a mall Santa-style operation, a waitlist app can make an incredible difference for the parents trying to keep their littles ones in line. With Waitlist Me, parents can join a waitlist and take their tots off to toddle around (and work off some of that energy). When the big guy in the suit is ready, the app sends them a text. Easy.

Christmas tree hunting

Come Thanksgiving, there are scads of parking lots stacked with blue spruce and Frasier fir trees. For tree farmers and sellers looking to head home before Santa packs his sleigh, customer service is essential in order to stand out from the crowd. Get in the game by helping your customers one-on-one. Add each tree-peeper to your waitlist when they walk onto your lot and dispatch an assistant to help them pick the tree that’s perfect for their holiday celebrations.

Community events

Whether you’re managing a Church holiday party, arranging auditions for a winter play, or manning a gift-wrapping booth to fundraise for a local charity, there are tons of seasonal reasons a waitlist might come into play. Use it to maintain order, prevent petty squabbles, and let everyone enjoy their time with family and friends. A waitlist app disperses long lines, letting folks mingle instead of tethering them to a queue.

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.

Using a paper floor plan has been common in the restaurant industry for a long time, and many software applications have incorporated spatial floor plan concepts into their designs.  Floor plans are deceptively complex to use, however, and can cost you time and money in ways you may not expect.  Waitlist Me CEO, Brian Hutchins, was recently featured in an article published on RMagazine, and goes into detail about 5 main reasons that floor plans are more complicated than they seem.

1) Key information is scattered in different directions

2) Comparing apples and oranges is difficult

3) Tables are static, but demand is not

4) Bad decisions lead to unhappy customers and frustrated employees

5) Measuring and improving results is difficult

Read  the article on RMagazine for all the details or watch the Waitlist Me video on table section management.