The QLess Blog

With the recent coronavirus pandemic, animal shelters have seen a significant increase in the number of pet adoptions. Quarantine and stay-at-home orders have made people crave extra companionship, and they realize the extra value that a pet can add to their life. Cats and dogs are always ready to give us affection, and they help inspire us to get out and exercise with them. With more daily business and social distancing safety measures that need to be observed, animal shelters and hospitals can benefit from a management system that uses software that works directly with customers’ cell phones.  

This article was originally published in Casino Compendium.

When you think of online booking software, you may think about industries like healthcare facilities, veterinarian offices, or government offices, but there are so many more businesses that can benefit from online booking software, like salons and hotels. It automates the process for customers and lets them schedule appointments through the company’s website or an app on their cell phone. The QLess software easily fills gaps and seamlessly integrates walk-ins with customers who have an appointment booked. Here are some of the industries that have had great success by implementing the QLess system.

At QLess, our mission isn't just to eliminate lines and improve the customer experience – it's to do all that in the most cost-effective way possible. Sure, if cost weren't a consideration, you could just hire more staff or redesign your waiting room or store to account for service delays. But those aren't options for a responsible operation. With QLess' scalable, easy-to-use platform you can solve problems that are costing your organization major revenue at a price that you can afford.

Still skeptical? Check out our new ROI calculator. Walk through this simple and free resource to see how you can potentially increase productivity, improve customer satisfaction, and manage sustainable growth with QLess.

Few things are as much fun for kids as a trip to the local museum. Whether it’s checking out dinosaur bones, moon rocks, or art, it’s a great way to have a fun and interactive learning experience. But what’s not so fun is waiting in line. It’s a drag for adults, but if you’ve ever seen a three-year-old have a full-on meltdown standing in a queue, you know that it’s a million times worse for children.

 This past winter was an absolute disaster for Americans who had to get on airplanes. A January storm grounded nearly 2,000 flights and more than 5,000 more were delayed. A month later a nor'easter caused more than 2,500 planes to remain on the ground – including half of the flights scheduled to depart from Newark, one of the country’s busiest airports. In total, tens of thousands of flights were delayed by bad weather, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stuck in airports wondering how (or if) they would reach their destinations.

And every single one of those people had to get in a line to get even the most basic information.

Today’s consumers have endless options when it comes to where to spend their money, so the savviest businesses (from retailers to doctor’s offices) know they’ve got to set themselves apart from the pack. The most impactful and low-cost way is to deliver stellar customer service. People remember when they get it, tell others about it, and honor it with repeat business. Just as true: people don’t hesitate to bail when service is poor. Below are five ways to help ensure that customers stick around:

The biggest dig leveled against the construction industry by those who don’t know the ins and outs of it goes something like this: “All construction workers do is stand around while one or two people do all the work.” Industry professionals, of course, know that there are many reasons for workers to be temporarily idle or “just standing around, watching people work” on the job site.

From civil engineers whose sole job is to ensure safety and compliance, to laborers who need to be available whenever duty calls, to tradesmen who sometimes have to wait their turn in a long process, workers who appear idle are often doing exactly the job for which they were hired. And most of the time this leads to greater efficiency, not less.

However, there are plenty of construction managers that constantly battle factors that impede productivity on the construction site often leading to missed deadlines, costly delays, and unsatisfied clients. Some of the most common blockers are:

In our latest webinar, CEO Alex Bäcker unveiled the top 4 predictions for 2016. More than 85% of our attendees found the presentation insightful! In case you missed it, watch the recording here:

Pi Day is amongst us! Lots of people are celebrating with parties and pies including one of our headquarters' favorite places to grab lunch: Blaze Pizza. We were really excited, like you have no idea, when we heard about their Pi Day promotion! Pizza pies (get it, pie?!) are $3.14 for the day. Well, we decided that we were hungry then and took a quick walk over.

Barbie mania, that’s the best way I can describe the Barbie Village at GirlTopia, the largest girls’ convention in the US. A Girl Scout sponsored event, the scouts and their den mothers came in droves to see the Barbie exhibit where girls got to dress in some of their favorite Barbie outfits, take pictures and get a special Barbie badge for their uniforms. We volunteered to help manage a QLess queue for the event. Mothers texted in and we were able to call them to the front so that there would only be 1-2 groups ahead of them when they arrived.

Liz Ohanesian of LA Weekly, one of LA’s top publications, spoke with QLess Founder and CEO Alex Bäcker and quickly learned he is a problem solver. After standing in line himself at Knotts Berry Farm, Alex came up with the idea for QLess, which is now applicable for all theme park lines. A quick thinker, Alex came up with the idea by the time he reached the front of the line.

The beauty of living in the 21st Century is that for the thousands of people attending the 2012 London Olympics this year, tickets could easily be purchased online and from every corner of the world.

Here is a Fox News report on how Twin Peaks is growing fast in this economy. Want to know how? Here's part of their secret:

As the 2012 Olympics draw near, and amidst reports of rampant border control queues at Heathrow Airport, I can't help but imagine the systemic chaos that will likely ensue over the next few months. It will culminate on August 13, the day after the Olympics closing ceremony, when Heathrow will experience its largest volume of passengers--ever. Authorities insist that the airport is prepared, but I'd be willing to bet that Murphy's Law will have a hand to play.

One of our favorite customers, Datz Tampa, recently shared the following customer feedback with us.

Earlier today, Charles Marrelli, Director of Experience Design at QLess, was a guest on the Colin McEnroe Show to discuss our solution to the problem of waiting in line. He was joined by a panel including Dr. Ken Chelst, professor of Operations Research at Wayne State University; Sara Frias, Marketing Director at Lake Compounce; and Melody Curry, Commissioner of the Connecticut DMV. Dr. Chelst, a foremost authority on queuing theory, said that QLess "sounds like a brilliant strategy".

 On a recent weekend, I was in Las Vegas, and my wife and I were playing poker at the Monte Carlo. It was about 9:30 pm, and we started talking about getting hungry, and figuring out if we knew any place close by to get some Mexican food and a decent margartia. The dealer overheard us and recommended Diablo's Cantina which was right on the corner of the hotel, with an outside door facing The Strip. So we cashed out and headed to dinner, arriving about 10:00.

QLess launched successfully in Ohmycut!, a salon chain in Spain. So far QLess has reduced the no-show rate by 63%!

Many restaurant owners will empathize with this story.Do you need any more reasons to go QLess and stop wasting money on coaster pagers? Find a page full of reasons to embrace mobile line management here.

Did you know that QLess restaurants have served every president from Gerald R. Ford to Barack Obama? We are proud to say that Bill Cosby, Elizabeth Taylor; Nick Lachey, Billy Joel, Sir Elton John, Jessica Simpson; Hall of Famers Anthony Munoz, Troy Aikman, Oscar Robertson, Marty Brennaman, Johnny Bench, Sparky Anderson, Frank Robinson; every National League Baseball team; Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus; Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, and a host of other celebrities are all a part of the clientele at QLess restaurants. They came for the great food, great food causes lines, and lines require QLess. Proudly here to (quite literally) serve democracy for generations to come. --Alex

QLess appeared in the press again, this time in Nation's Restaurant News, where one of our customers was quoted saying "It’s helped keep customers from walking away,” said Ngo, who was concerned about theft or abuse of restaurant-issued pagers.

A Kansas City favorite goes QLess --check them out.

I am pleased to announce that QLess signed on Boston Gourmet Pizza, a national chain of 40 restaurants, last Friday. QLess dining, coming soon to a fine restaurant near you. --Alex

Read our customer's glowing review of QLess.

http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/database-crm/2215.html

A second case study showed 22% reduction in no-shows with QLess in The Boiling Crab as compared to guests not using cell phones. When added to the 9% reduction in turn-aways previously demonstrated with cell phone paging as compared to old-fashioned pager systems, this makes for a 34% increase in customers seated thanks to QLess, not altogether different from the 45% we previously demonstrated.If your restaurant is not using QLess, you are missing out on 34%-45% of the customers you could be serving! --Alex

Customers at The Boiling Crab are already giving QLess some great reviews. Eddie C. from Cerritos writes in his 5-star review:

Congratulations to the newest member of the QLess family, The Boiling Crab on being featured in the LA Times!

I stopped by Barney's Beanery today and ate one of their great appetizer platters. On my way out, I asked Betsy, a hostess, how QLess was working for them. Here is what she had to say:

The Boiling Crab, perhaps the most popular Cajun restaurant chain in California and Texas, is going QLess for 3 of its restaurants. Welcome to the QLess family!

A new survey shows that more than 90% of restaurant guests surveyed said they prefer a QLess restaurant than one w/o QLess, and that they'd wait longer for a table if QLess was available. Something that was borne out by the fact that guests waited up to 3.17 hours to get a table using QLess (and actually sat to eat after that). In fact, the revenues from people who wait more than 45 minutes alone give a highly positive ROI for the cost of QLess --making the extra customer satisfaction for every guest a free bonus.

That's what Jonah Dumont, manager of Barney's Beanery Santa Monica, said today of QLess. Barney's was voted #1 place to watch sports in the Los Angeles area. With no having to stand in line, it's no wonder the crowds love it. Check it out at www.barneysbeanery.com or stroll over to 1351 3rd St. Promenade, Santa Monica. It's a joy of a place to eat.

Yesterday was the tail-end of a weekend with record-setting heat here in L.A. What a great day to stand in a line of 1000 people at the airport, waiting to get through security.

Following in the footsteps of last month's "An almost-perfect trip to Disneyland", now Valleyfair in Minnesota is making news by changing their policy to make guests with disabilities wait in long lines for rides. The park used to let disabled guests skip the lines, but this policy was being abused. I just had a friend tell me a couple weeks ago how her boyfriend would always put on a fake cast, and rent a wheel-chair whenever he went to a theme park, just so he could skip the lines. So it's easy to imagine how badly out of control this policy was getting, and what drove Valleyfair to this decision.

Sarah Barnes from Austin writes about their family trip to Disneyland, where an almost-perfect day was marred by two unfortunate (and unnecessary) problems. First, her daughter Meredith, who has special needs, had a lot of trouble standing in Disney's famously-long lines, becoming anxious to the point of tears. Second, when requesting a special pass from the park, to help them avoid the lines, she was forced to justify Meredith's need for it to the park staff, by explaining her condition in agonizing detail. Of course, once she convinced them, she found that the "special pass" wouldn't actually help them avoid the lines.

CBS 3 in Philadelphia confirms that coaster pagers are filthy and dangerous.

Mr. Harteveldt of Forrester Research says mobile check-in is an option many travelers want.

Hello world! It's my first blog post. So bear with me... :)

The VP of Sales of a major US corporation recently spoke to me about the buzzers that some restaurants give out to the customers waiting in line to page them: "It's like having to carry a brick! I hate those damn things. Everybody hates them."

Then I spoke with our recruiter about them. "They're unhygienic", he said. "You never know what someone has done w/it before you got it".

We were featured in Elliot.org!

Qless (http://www.qless.com) is a hosted service that virtually manages your customer lines or wait lists.