Introduction to QMS
An imbalance between supply and demand leads to queues. A group of individuals waiting for the same reason tend to self-organize and this organization is usually in the form of queues, i.e. first come first serve. Any business operating in a branch format, where customers come to the outlet to purchase a product or a service, must manage queues.
Most small businesses do not have such a system in place. At times, it leads to randomness in the service delivery flow which in turn leads to customer annoyance.
A system that efficiently manages customer flow and ensures fairness in the service/ product delivery sequence is called a Queue Management System.
Types of queues:
1.First in first out: This is the most common type of queue. Customers are serviced in the order of their arrival.
2.Last in first out: Customer with the shortest waiting time is serviced first.
3.Priority selection: Customers are called according to a pre-established priority process.
Benefits of QMS?
1.Better customer experience: QMS helps reduce waiting time for the customer and reduces the chances of a walkaway.
2.Positive business image: A customer would always appreciate shorter waiting time and would be more inclined to spread a good word of mouth.
3.Improved staff productivity: Managing queues manually takes up a significant amount of man-hours. When an automated system takes over this task, staff can better focus on the operations and ensure a better-quality service to the customer.
4.Useful data insights: QMS also collects important data points such as customer feedback, average waiting time, employee performance, etc. This analysis would help a business to identify improvement areas.