Queuing or Waiting Line Theory:

Queuing theory is a technique which aids the manager in making decisions involving the
establishment of service facilities to meet irregular demands. Cost problems arise when there are
more service facilities available than are needed, or when too few facilities are available and
consequently, long waiting lines form.

For example, in a battery of machines, breakdowns will occur randomly, and whenever the
maintenance service falls below that demanded by the breakdowns, a waiting line of unrepaired
machines forms. This idle capacity is a cost that has to be balanced against the costs of keeping
maintenance services available.

Queuing theory is applied to any situation producing a need to balance the cost of increasing
available service against the cost of letting units wait. To arrive at the best number of service
facilities, the manager and the team must first determine (in the example above) the breakdown
rate and the time required to service each machine. These data can then be used to construct a
mathematical model of the problem

Advantages

Increase customer loyalty and retention rates

Bad queuing situations can often lead to customers choosing not to return to a store. In a world
where we have so many other options if our expectations aren’t satisfied, such as visiting a
competitor’s store or even going online, ensuring we retain loyal customers is vital. The
prominence of social media can lead to posts about dissatisfactory queuing experiences go viral
in a flash and can put strangers off visiting a store. Having good queue management systems in
place, especially for days that are synonymous with large waiting lines such as Black Friday,
avoids customers going elsewhere and instead promotes memorable queuing experiences.

Improve staff efficiencies to up sales and profitability

In peak queuing times, staff may find themselves trying to organize the queue manually. By
using a system such as Auto Call Forward technology, which automatically calls shoppers
forward to the next available register, staff can focus on serving customers. In fact, our Auto Call
Forward system has been proven to allow staff to serve up to 25% more customers per hour.

Optimize costs

Intelligent customer management systems allow you to truly understand your customer flow.
Solutions such as Virtual Queue Management System have the ability to provide you with
insightful data to understand customer affluence, behavior patterns and distribution throughout
your environment. This data can be translated to create a strategic plan as to where you place
your staff throughout the day.