It’s a retailer’s dream to boast a line long enough to wrap around a city block. A lot of the promos and products you dream up might even be designed to attract these 6-o’clock-news-worthy waits. Think: Black Friday doorbusters, innovative croissant-donut hybrids, and once-in-a-lifetime bear-stuffing deals.

But the reality? Well, it’s not as dreamy as it seems. In fact, it’s kind of nightmare. The history of long lines is plagued with stampedes, riots, and heat stroke victims. Yikes!

And that’s just for the people who join those long lines. For every customer that’s willing to wait, there are tens to hundreds that won’t be. Think about it this way: What would you wait hours for? What would make you want to camp out on a sidewalk?

If you did it at all, it would have to be for something truly incredible. A dinner at a new-to-the-neighborhood restaurant? Not likely. A shopping spree at a boutique? No way. An after-work drink? Forget it. A pilates class? Never.

How a long line hurts your business

A long line might get you a few dozen customers who are willing to wait in exchange for a first look or a door prize. But at what expense? That line might stretch wayyy down the street, but when hundreds of other passersby see it, they’re going to think that your business is the last place they want to be.

Sure, they might stop and ask what the line is for. Sure, they might talk about your establishment. Most of that conversation may be negative, though. Many of those on-lookers are going to be saying, “Some people waited 3 hours for a burger. How dumb is that?!” rather than: “The line for the best burger in town was 3 hours long yesterday. I’m going to go get one tonight!”

The truth is that long lines alienate customers. They dissuade people from giving you a chance. Potential customers have long memories. They will remember one or two long wait times, and forever associate you with inconvenience. Those customers are going to go somewhere else.

Why? Because…

* They don’t want to hop on the next-cool-thing bandwagon. Some customers instinctually rebel against hype. They’ll opt for a just-as-good competitor, instead. And because they didn’t have to wait, they’ll perceive your rival as being better than you are simply due to that lack of a long line.

* They’re worried the customer service stinks. Long lines can indicate efficiency problems. Guests encounter them and assume that someone at the front is lollygagging or that you’re understaffed. That’s ding No.-1 against your reputation for a top-notch guest experience.

* They aren’t interested in hanging out in a crowd. Some folks love feeling like sardines packed in a tin, but most don’t. A crowded business creates unnecessary pressure on the customer to hurry through their experience, regardless of whether they’re shopping, eating, or doing something else.

* They’re concerned something is wrong. Have you run out of the product you’re running a promo for? Are the cash registers down? Are you understaffed? Is this whole waiting-in-a-crazy-long-line thing all going to be for naught? Cue customer anxiety.

A better alternative

It is great when you have something everyone wants, but you don’t have to make them suffer in a long crazy line to get it. Waitlist Me makes it easy to manage a line virtually rather than physically. Add people to your waitlist so they know they have a spot in line and have visibility into the wait process, while allowing them the flexibility to walk around or do something else while they wait. Then simply press a button to notify them with a text message when it is their term. It is simple, and effective.

The last thing all of us at Waitlist Me expected to see on the evening news was Build-A-Bear. But alas, there they were, stuffing and all.

No need to check your calendar, folks. It’s not Black Friday—phew!—and it’s not International BYOB Day (that’s “build your own bear” for the uninitiated). Nope, it was the day Build-A-Bear launched a one-day-only offer that backfired spectacularly…and resulted in lines that wound through shopping mall corridors and wrapped around city blocks. You don’t need to see the video footage to know what happened next: fury, frustration, and injuries.

We know your customers come first, and you don’t want to see anybody angry, aggravated, or harmed on your watch. We’re with you. All of us at Waitlist Me hope that every last Build-A-Bear customer is doing OK.

Situations like this are why crowd control is essential. And that, my friends, is where Waitlist Me comes in.

Waitlist Me is a waitlist and reservation app that any small business can use

That’s right, waitlists aren’t just for restaurants anymore. Our customers include everyone from department stores and big box chains to salons, doctor’s offices, and gyms. If you have guests that need to wait for something, you have a reason to give Waitlist Me a try.

We’re not exaggerating when we tell you that Waitlist Me can save your business’ hide on a busy day—and its reputation. Nothing kills foot traffic like a 1-star Google review, a nasty comment on Yelp, or making the local news for all the wrong reasons.

12 ways Waitlist Me can save your day

Whether you manage a store that’s part of a national chain or you’re a business owner with a brick-and-mortar that’s all your own, our waitlist app can be the hero you never thought you’d need. Maybe you’re running an end-of-the-season sale, or maybe’s it’s just a regular ol’ Wednesday night when your biz takes a turn. Whenever you need us, Waitlist Me is here to help.

Here are 12 ways we’ve already helped small businesses manage long lines and crazy crowds:

–   Manage a rush of sick patients during summer cold season at an urgent care facility

–   Ensure every prom-goer gets a makeover at a beauty bar

–   Keep track of who’s in line for bling next during jewelry store holiday sales

–   Give employees the time they need to train customers on safe firework handling before the 4^th of July

–   Text footy fans when their table is ready at a sports bar during the World Cup

–   Shorten changing room lines by letting customers shop while they wait during a blow-out sale

–   Juggle street traffic and phone orders during the lunchtime rush at a downtown deli

–   Manage meeting times during marketplace shows and expos at a convention center

–   Allow eager diners to wander while they wait for a table at a surprise pop-up dinner

–   Keep track of first-come, first-serve customers during a door-buster day at a department store

–   Take same-day reservations at a family photography studio

–   Book tours and activities from a boardwalk over a long weekend

Your boutique packed with shoppers? That’s a dream come true. Your store monopolized by a line of customers waiting for a dressing room? Now, that’s a nightmare.

Long lines for changing rooms can make people walk right out the door without giving your store—or your products—a chance. Don’t lose potential sales (or risk annoying loyal customers). Waitlist Me is a waitlist app that can help you manage traffic better and improve shopping experiences. Here’s how you could use it:

Keep customers shopping, not waiting

Browsing beats out waiting every single time, and Waitlist Me helps you let your customers do exactly that. Our text notification feature makes it easy for shoppers to take another look around your store without worrying about giving up their place in line. When you add them to the waitlist, they can check their place in line from their phone or just wait for you to text them when it is their turn.

Create an in-store kiosk

Worried about seeming pushy? Enter Waitlist Me’s kiosk mode, which lets customers add themselves to your waitlist without the help of a sales associate. All you need is a mobile device, like a tablet that runs iOS or Android, and a sign, and you’re ready to go! Bonus: Kiosk mode will free up your sales associates, too, making it easier for them to focus their energies on customers.

Turn shoppers into VIPs

There’s just something nice about a sales associate knocking on your waiting room door and saying, “Sam, can I get you a different size?” rather than, “Hey, you! How ya doin’ in there?” Waitlist Me lets you personalize your customer service from your very first interaction. We even offer a notes feature, which lets associates add brief details to each customer. Shopping for a semi-formal? Got it!

Offer a personal shopping service

A boutique-level offering can elevate any store—and add to your bottom line. With Waitlist Me, you can offer personal shopping alongside the more typical DIY variety and allow customers to book the service directly from the app. Our at-a-glance visual interface lets staffers quickly see who’s waiting for what and if you need to allocate more associates or dressing rooms to one area or the other.

Track your dressing room usage

Do you have enough dressing rooms available for your customers? Could you improve your store layout or your staffing to increase turnover time without sacrificing sales or the customer experience? Waitlist Me Pro’s analytics capabilities let you track how much time customers spend in dressing rooms, which helps you make informed decisions about your store’s future.

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.

Building on the set of resource management features we rolled out a couple months ago, we have added more flexibility for creating and tracking custom resource statuses. These statuses can be used to visually highlight different stages of your occupied resources in different colors to help make assignment decisions faster and easier.

Here is a new video on resource management, including the new custom statuses:

For example, say you are managing restaurant tables and using Waitlist Me to view what tables are available or occupied. You can sort tables by the times they have been occupied for a better sense of which ones will become available first. Now with custom statuses you could improve on those estimates even more by changing the states of tables that are waiting for their bill or being cleaned. Marking tables with customers waiting for their checks as “billing” can give your bus boys a heads up on which tables would need cleaning soon. Similarly, you can change the status of tables to “cleaning” when they are being cleared and prepped. Using more detailed statuses can help your staff at the front of the house know what tables will be available soon, which means they can quote better wait time estimates and seat customers faster. This means more revenue for the restaurant through more table turns and improved customer satisfaction.

This is just one example of how it might work in a restaurant, but the flexibility of the naming and usage of statuses means they can be tailored to different processes in different businesses.

To change a status in Waitlist Me, all you have to do is press on the resource and an action bar will appear at the bottom of the screen. This area shows information on customers currently occupying and waiting for the resource, and has actions for moving and clearing customers. Pressing on the status on the left will bring up a list of statuses, and selecting one will change the status and color of the resource. In the list view, just tap on the status color to change it.

Note that when you choose a custom status you can see both the total time a resource has been occupied as well as the time spent in the current status, which is shown in parenthesis. This makes it easy to see total visit times and times in specific statuses at a glance, so you can tell if a certain stage is causing more delays than others and how that might be affecting total wait times.

Accompanying the custom statuses are a couple of new sorting options in the Grid view, where you can view your resources grouped by Status. Select “Status the ABC” to have all the statuses grouped together and then ordered alphabetically by the resource name or “Status then Time” to have them ordered by the length of time they have been in that particular status.

To customize your statuses, go to your Settings and then press on “Manage Resources” and then again on the “Statuses” in the upper right. In addition to the default “available” (green) and “occupied” (red) statuses, you can add four of your own statuses. Just add the names and move the sliders on the right to turn them on or off. Statuses will show alphabetically in the options when you select them, so you can set the naming accordingly. The green and red statuses for available and occupied resources are always required, and custom statuses are treated as states of an occupied resource.