The last thing you want to see is would-be customers walk in your shop, eager to take home a new piece of jewelry, and then they walk right back out because none of your sales associates is free to help them. That could be thousands of dollars in current and future purchases, trotting down the street to a competitor.

But what if you could capture walk-outs before they, well, walk out? With a reservation management app like Waitlist Me, you can.  Here’s what a waitlist app would allow you to do:

Treat customers like VIPS—even when you’re slammed

Forget about splitting your attention between the woman eyeing earrings in the case in front of you and the couple that just walked through the door. Greet people when they come in the door to find out what they need, so you add them to the waitlist and let them know you will be with them soon. This let’s new visitors know you care and helps your sales associates feel comfortable giving 100 percent of their attention to the client at hand.

Wow new clients with efficient communication and prompt service

What happens to the couple you can’t help right this second? You can text them the moment an associate is free (or schedule an appointment). When they walk through the door again, you’ll be prepared—maybe with a tray of engagement rings already on the counter—because Waitlist Me lets you add details to every customer, like what they’re currently shopping for.

Don’t let customers slip away during a sales rush

A lot of time and money goes into planning sales events, and they are a sure-fire way to bring in a larger crowd. It can be frustrating, though, to see people leaving because they don’t know when it might be their turn to get some help. For those days, Waitlist Me has an option to use an additional iPad as a self-check in station. It gives customers a simple way to get their spot in line, so they can relax as they browse through the store, or even step outside, without worrying about losing their turn.

Increase repeat customers

An exceptional experience is what transforms a one-time customer into a long-time customer. A waitlist app can help you eliminate the elements clients despise: feeling rushed as they browse, ignored when they come in, or forgotten as soon as they pay for their purchase.

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!

Soccer? Olé! For restaurants and bars around the globe, it’s a fútbol frenzy as fans around the world grab their jerseys and get their watch game on.  And since Waitlist Me is international and available in over 60 countries, it is a great tool for businesses everywhere to score a victory with their customers.

Whether you’re running a team-specific bar with patrons all cheering for the home team or your business has viewing screens for soccer fans watching every game, Waitlist Me is here to help you keep up with the crowds.

Wondering how a waitlist and reservation app can help you keep customers coming back, game after game? Here’s how food and beverage businesses are using it to do exactly that, right now.

Ensuring diners never lose their spot in line

Vibrating pagers are just one more thing for your guests to keep track of, and yelling names? Well, that’s annoying (and easy to miss when you’re in the middle of a rowdy crowd). Waitlist Me solves the “Wait, did they call our name?” problem with text notifications. Now, nobody misses a beat (or a minute of the action).

Kicking clutter to the curb (and seating guests faster than ever)

Rustling appointment books, piles of sticky notes, and a smudged grease board slow you down. With a slew of things to check and update, your hosts have tons of tasks to take care of that have nothing to do with showing your customers a good time. Waitlist Me eliminates paper clutter and gives hosts the ability to add and seat parties with a glance and a swipe.

Winning over new-to-you diners

A scrum of soccer fans in your waiting area can make new customers turn tail. Don’t let your popularity turn off potential guests! Waitlist Me helps you maximize foot traffic by setting your queuers free. Thanks to text notifications and a public waitlist they can check for ETAs, they don’t have to stand around your hostess stand. That means new walk-ins feel welcome, even when there’s a wait.

Offering up accurate wait estimates without the guesswork

No tapping toes here! Waitlist Me takes guesstimates out of the waiting game. Our app shows accurate wait times right on the home screen, so your hosts can relay wait times to diners with just one glance, saving you time and frustration.

Putting specials on display

From early opening times and viewing party schedules to appetizer and drink specials, you have a lot of news to share with your guests. Waitlist’s Public Waitlist feature is a simple way to ensure they’ll see important things you want to share while they wait.

Keeping track of special requests for every party

Every time you add a party to your waitlist, you can add a note with their needs or special requests. Do they want a corner booth? A TV tuned to the England game? A high chair? Wheelchair access? Add a note and get it right the first time, guaranteed.

Host viewing parties for two games simultaneously

Hosting viewing parties for a couple games that are on at the same time? Waitlist helps you do that in a snap. You can add folks to each game’s list and seat them accordingly—without any fights over which TV is tuned to what game.

Entertaining customers while they wait

Our Public Waitlist feature lets you customize what you show your guests—and this World Cup season, you can go way beyond your logo and brand colors. It’s easy to add GIFs, music, images, and videos. Hook it up to a TV screen in your waiting area, and customers will be glued to the screen, not their watches.

Letting fans jump in the queue from wherever they are

With Waitlist Me’s Add Yourself web widget, your diners can go for that last-minute pick-up game without worrying about grabbing a table later. As soon as they wrap up on the field, they can hop on your waitlist from a smartphone and never miss a game or a meal.

Don’t let Amazon’s billion-dollar bank account make you close up shop. Sure, ecommerce is gaining traction, but that doesn’t mean retail is dead. Far from it!

It’s time for a retail revolution. It’s time for boutiques, mom-and-pop shops, and big-box stores alike to delve deep into the one frontier ecommerce institutions can’t touch: one-one-one customer service. Make it your No.-1 selling point, and you’ll turn walk-ins into loyal customers, and loyal customers into raving fans.

Keep reading for our best tips on how to improve your retail store’s customer service today with a little help from Waitlist Me, a waitlist and appointment app.

Ax the long check-out line (and turn returns into exchanges)

As the holiday season comes into view, we can look forward to swelling lines and swelling tempers. Instead of forcing customers into wait in endless serpentines or a series of parallel lines, try using a waitlist. When customers leave fitting rooms or start heading toward the register, add them to the list. While they wait, let them wander…and maybe add another item or two to their basket.

Set customers free from dressing room lines

What’s worse than a long line? Easy: waiting in one with hangers digging into your forearm. For those shoppers who know they’re going to try on a closet’s worth of clothes, Waitlist Me’s kiosk mode makes it a cinch for them to hop on line for a dressing room as they rifle through your clothing racks. A fitting room attendant can call them over (or text them!) when they make it to the front of the line.

Offer appointments for special shopping trips

Whether they’re hunting for 52-inch HDTVs or formal dresses, there are all sorts of different occasions where shoppers walk into stores looking for assistance. Using a simple appointment system, like the one built in to Waitlist Me, allows these customers to arrive knowing that they’re going to get VIP treatment from a sales associate who can help them find whatever it is they want to open their wallets for.

Transform complaints into kudos

When there’s only one manager on the floor to handle everything from returns to complaints about that one employee who’s having a bad day, everyone feels frustrated. A waitlist is a simple solution to keep guests happy and staffers on their A-game, and thanks to Waitlist Me’s multi-device sync feature, every employee has access to it. It makes for a smooth customer service experience (and far fewer ruffled feathers).

Create a complementary personal shopper service

Personal shopping isn’t just for jet-setters! Any retailer, from luxe boutiques to thrift stores, can bring superior service to every single customer who wants it, simply by giving them the option. Waitlist Me offers a same-day reservations feature. Shoppers can book a time that works for them and leave a note with what they’re looking for, and you can staff up (and set aside a dressing room) accordingly.

The Waitlist Me widget allows customers to add themselves to the waitlist and reservations. It is convenient for customers and saves you the time of having to take down information over the phone.

Whether you choose to have customer requests automatically approved or pending an approval step in the Waitlist Me app, we have a new feature that you can use to limit when these requests can be made.  This helps avoid confusion where a customer might try to add themselves to the waitlist when you are closed or not taking waitlist requests.

Now you can decide if you’d like the widget to take requests all the time with the “24/7” option or you can set the days and times that it would do so.  During the times that you choose to take requests the widget would display as it normally does.  During other times it would show a message you can customize on not being available at that time.

The new widget time display settings are part of the Waitlist Me Pro service.