You don’t have to act like a drill sergeant to bring a touch more productivity to your 9-to-5 life. Whether you’re a manager, a department director, an executive, or a small business owner, you get more done when you aren’t waiting on things holding you up.

Waitlists aren’t just for restaurants. People waste a lot of time waiting around in business environments, even if they aren’t standing in lines. Here are four ways you can put a waitlist app to work in an office setting:

Run a help desk more efficiently

Forget about dragging equipment to a different floor or wondering if the IT guy has read your email yet. A waitlist keeps everyone in the loop and no one standing in line, laptop in hand. Your tech support can send text alerts to employees when it’s their turn, cutting down on dead time spent twiddling their thumbs.

Bonus! Waitlist Me Pro offers analytics that let you check up on different data points, like which employee is spending how much time taking care of which problem. You’ll be able to track your service times—and see if you need to adjust the schedule or size of your team, based on the hours your crew is currently clocking.

Answer “Do you have a minute?” questions

Administrators, HR, designers, unofficial office gurus—there are all sorts of people who field questions from colleagues 24/7. A waitlist gives them an easy way to help out with information requests without derailing projects and meetings.

Bonus! Our public waitlist feature lets staffers check in to see where they are in line, which means no more passive aggressive follow-up emails, check-in calls asking if you’re free in five, or awkward hovering outside your office door. Phew!

Manage office hours with managers, teams, or departments

An open-door policy is great for your office culture but not so hot for productivity. A better choice: consistent office hours. Employees will know when it’s their turn to poke their heads in for advice or project input. Got a line growing outside your office? Waitlist Me can help you wrangle it. Let employees add themselves and then chill at their desks ‘til it’s their turn, without worrying about missing their chance to meet.

Bonus! Waitlist Me works on the web as well as iOS and Android devices. That means it can go wherever you do. Use it in your office on a desktop computer, from a coffeeshop, or wherever else your job takes you.

Oversee on-site employee services and benefits

Everyone loves a perk, whether it’s on on-site yoga studio or food trucks in the parking lot every Wednesday. But sometimes, those perks come with wait times that keep employees at bay. Keep your employees happy—and enjoying the benefits that are part of their compensation package—by employing a waitlist that lets everyone have a go at the good stuff. Waitlist Me lets staffers add themselves to a list from wherever they are, whether they’re at home, on the train, or walking in from the parking deck, making it even easier for them to use the services you offer.

Bonus! With Waitlist Me, a 5-minute wait really is a 5-minute wait. Our app offers wait time estimates based on historical averages, and seeing estimated times next to actuals helps people improve their quote estimates. It’s just one more way we’re helping you and your employees use time wisely.

Want an way for your customers to check their place in line?  Now you can easily display your public waitlist view on any TV screen through a new integration with Enplug. It’s great for your customers, as they can just glance at a TV screen to see their place in line instead of constantly wondering or asking how much longer they need to wait.

View of public waitlist on TV screen

View of waitlist managed on Waitlist Me

The Enplug device streams digital content onto any TV or display, so businesses can browse through a collection of apps to engage their audience, including Graphics (HD images and videos), Live Social Wall, News, Weather, Directory, Web Page, and now Waitlist Me. Apps and display settings can be instantly managed through Enplug’s web dashboard.  The integration with Waitlist Me is very intuitive, so it is simple for any business to set up and manage.

“Waitlist Me is the first third-party app available to our customers,” said Alex Ross, Chief Operating Officer, Enplug. “They’ve done a fantastic job at integrating their waitlist app software using our SDK. We want to provide our customers with as much great marketing content as possible, and Waitlist Me allows us to do exactly that.”

The integration with Enplug also marks an important milestone for Waitlist Me as the first publicly announced use of the Waitlist Me API.  The Waitlist Me API allows third parties to build Waitlist Me features into their websites and applications.  It can be used to display and customize the public waitlist view appears, add and remove parties, register users and more. For companies interested in using the API, please send an email to [email protected]

Renting shoes and perfecting the art of bowling-without-bumpers is a favorite memory of Waitlist Me’s app developers, and we’re thrilled that our favorite outing of old is back in favor with everyone from teens to millennials to families with kids.

Seeing a surge in your clown shoe-clad customers? Waitlist Me is a waitlist and reservation app that can help you smoothly manage the increase in traffic—and turn new customers into loyal fans.

Here are 3 ways our app can help any bowling alley gain new business (and improve customer service) today.

Prevent walk-outs when there’s a wait

A line at the door can make any strike-happy group turn tail and hit up a pizza parlor or movie theater, instead. Waitlist Me helps you keep customers regardless of your wait time. How? By making that line disappear.

Thanks to unlimited text notifications for users in the U.S. (and pay-as-you-go texting for Waitlist Me’s international plans), you can add groups to your waitlist and then let them roam free until a lane becomes available. They could grab cheese fries and a pitcher of beer at your snack stand, shoot pool and play PAC-MAN in your arcade, or window-shop their way down the street. When they’re first in line, you can send them a heads-up via text.

Perfect for:

– Bowling alleys with limited staffing (or a small waiting area)

– Checking in large groups during peak business hours

– Bowling alleys facing lots of local competing attractions

Give large groups a great time

You brought in snacks and arcade games to serve your bowlers better. But those add-ons don’t have to be after thoughts. Now, with large groups looking for impromptu hang-out spaces, your bowling alley is primed to offer a variety of fun options for everyone, including the non-bowlers in the bunch.

You can use Waitlist Me to give everyone a chance to do whatever it is that floats their boat…without making ‘em stand around in long lines by themselves. How? Waitlist Me is flexible enough to be used for people waiting for lanes, your in-house food area, or even popular games like air hockey.  Text ‘em when it’s their turn, ensuring that they’re never sacrificing quality time with friends and family to hold their place in line.  You can manage lines for different activities with status colors or even set up a separate waitlist for areas that have regular waits.

Perfect for:

– Booking birthday parties, office outings, and other celebrations

– Special events, like trivia nights and karaoke

– Attracting big crowds for bowling league competitions

Make it easy for customers to choose your bowling alley

Who wants a hassle for what should be a fun happy hour outing? Not your guests! That’s why it’s essential to make it a cinch for your customers to decide to shoot the breeze at your business rather than another spot down the block. A parking lot and food specials are a great way to get ‘em coming in your door. Another tool to have in your back pocket: Waitlist Me.

The app is built to handle waitlists and reservations side-by-side, so you can forget about that mess of sticky notes cluttering up your front counter. Customers can call before they come, walk right in, or even add themselves to your waitlist or make a reservation online. And, thanks to the public waitlist feature, they can check your ETA from wherever they are, whether that’s the water cooler, the bar next door, or the parking lot.

Perfect for:

– Catering to the after-work crowd

– Offering pop-up events

– Handling holidays and rainy summer afternoons

‘Tis the season for fresh powder and freezing temperatures. This winter, ski towns across America are riding high on the sort of snowfall that would make Frosty proud. As the inches accumulate—and ski bunnies flock in droves—the small businesses that keep these high-altitude towns running are awash in customers.

How are they turning out consistently excellent customer service? They’re downloading Waitlist Me, the intuitive waitlist and reservation app designed for restaurants, retailers, and all sorts of businesses in-between. The service makes interacting with your customers a cinch from the first day the slopes open to the very last snowfall.

Not sure how your business can use Waitlist Me to improve customer service and make overall operations more efficient? Take a peek at how these winter businesses are leveraging the app to win over customers and boost their bottom line.

Food and beverage businesses

From fine dining to dive bars, American ski towns are awash with excellent eateries. Here’s how businesses are using Waitlist Me to score customer service points:

– Wrangling the queue for a popular downtown bar

– Managing the constant waitlist at a teensy locavore dining hot spot

– Arranging behind-the-scenes tours and tastings at a brewery

– Letting guests sip wine while they wait for a table

– Squeezing in a pre-run breakfast 

Resorts and hospitality-focused establishments

No matter how visitors are spending their days, they all have one thing in common: They require some serious rest-and-relaxation. Here’s how an assortment of hospitality businesses use the app to help their guests chill out:

– Booking private, slope-view hot tubs at a resort spa

– Scheduling a moment of zen with yoga classes

– Offering walk-in appointments for chair massages

– Reserving luxe recovery amenities

Retailers and recreational outfits

Niche small businesses are what turn tiny towns into delightful vacation spots. Waitlist Me enables business owners to deliver spectacular service to their customers and clientele. Here’s how they’re using it:

– Prep for incoming customers at a bike rental shop 

– Arranging private tours for parties large and small at a historical site 

– Booking beginner spots in ski school 

– Saddling up for sleigh rides 

– Scoring space on a slopes-bound shuttle 

– Fitting skis and gear on newbies at a shop 

Want to see how your business can benefit as well? Contact us for a free trial and see how Waitlist Me can change business-as-usual for you today! 

Toe-tapping, lobby-sitting, hostess-stalking? With Waitlist Me, these tired time-passing tactics are in the rearview mirror.

Waitlist Me is a waitlist and reservation app that sets you free. Thanks to our text messaging technology, queuers can ramble and roam while they wait without worrying about losing their place in line.

The only question remaining is this: What should you do with all this newfound freedom? Read on for 19 things to do while you wait.

1. Can’t remember who bought the last round? Race around the block to see who will pick up the bill this time around.

2. Declare a thumb war. It’s on!

3. Host an impromptu walk-off, America’s Next Top Model-style.

4. Predict the future with a middle school throwback: M*A*S*H.

5. Settle a disagreement by surveying passersby. Ketchup vs. mustard? Fries vs. onion rings? Coke vs. Pepsi? Anything goes.

6. Pop open a package of breath mints and see who can catch the most in their mouth. First one to land three-in-a-row gets to choose dessert!

7. Up the ante on people-watching by counting the number of buzz cuts or leopard print or mom jeans you spot.

8. Tap into your inner elementary student with a few rounds of hopscotch.

9. Freeze! Suggest a game of statues to see who’s the best strong-and-silent type.

10. Yuk it up with an impressions competition. For a stiffer contest, provide charades-like categories.

11. You know what they say: The best way to learn a new language is to practice! Have a conversation completely in French. (Or Klingon. You do you, friend.)

12. Have a way with words? Put it to the test with an on-the-spot limerick or haiku competition. Level up by requiring poets to include a particular word or phrase.

13. Co-opt a bright outdoor (spot) light for a speedy (fingers crossed!) open mic night.

14. Circle for hair braiding or shoulder massages.

15. Ready? OK! Pick a clean patch of grass and build a human pyramid.

16. No card deck? No problem. Grab a napkin and a spare pen or rogue crayon. Then, sketch out a brand-new game.

17. Lend a hand to your favorite local hotspots by using your waiting time to leave five-star reviews on Google and Yelp. Trust us, every rating counts!

18. Give your tablemates a challenge by throwing a speedy scavenger hunt. Use your phones to record finds and don’t forget to set a timer!

19. Face-off with a mirror mime contest. May we recommend mixing old-school techniques with 21^st-century actions, like VR gaming or snowboarding?