This is by far the best system I have ever used
“This is by far the best system I have ever used. Lets you anticipate your time. It also give you more freedom to make a call or use the bathroom, knowing where you are in line. Thank you.” -QLess user with a Las Vegas phone number in an SMS to us when we asked about his/her experience
It’s always a pleasure to meet accomplished people who raise our standards, who humble us with their record of accomplishment. Yesterday, the LA Times wrote on its cover about one such entrepreneur: Elon Musk, of whose Saturday launch of the latest SpaceX rocket the future of the space age may depend, something he does in his spare time when he’s not running Tesla, the first successful electric car company and a solar energy production company (you want to have the electricity to run his cars be clean, after all) to save the Earth (you can tell he’s not confident of his success and is hedging his bets with an escape plan). It’s good that Elon is up to something these days, as previously he had only co-founded and led the Internet’s largest payment platform (Paypal). And that after he created his first multi-hundred-million dollars success. Wishing him and SpaceX all the luck on Saturday’s launch.
Today, I had the pleasure of being invited to lunch by Si Ramo, co-founder of TRW (he’s the R) and Bunker-Ramo (now part of Honeywell). It’s not every day you get to talk to someone who can, in one conversation over a delicious lunch he invited me to at the LA Country Club in Beverly Hills, where he is the oldest living member, tell you about his experience during the Great Depression, about the call he got from President Eisenhower to build ICBMs to beat the Russians in that race, about the Los Angeles Times and the disaster made by Sam Zell from the perspective of a former Board member, about the founding of the National Academy of Engineering from one of its founders, about how 99-yr-olds like him only have a 50% chance to make it past the year, even though he has plans to die only at 101, about the best thing you can do to stay alive at that age (a walking stick to avoid falls!), about the top 3 things that the US military is doing wrong, from the father of the ICBM, about how he got rid of his cell phone to stop wasting time talking on the phone, how he gets rid of undesirable phone calls by telling them he’s 99 and referring them to the person he thinks is best for what they want (“I know a lot of people”), about Apple and their inferior products –his opiniont–, and about the decision to admit women to Caltech decades ago, currently ranked #1 university in the world although in his opinion only for science, which is what brought us together. We’ll be meeting again soon, so stay tuned for more fascinating accounts of the last century from a unique entrepreneur.
People like Si –even if they are the 1%– are why QLess offers electronic queue management for people without cell phones, too.
Companies like Tesla, whose cars have a waiting list to get before they even launch, are why QLess allows you to digitize your waitlist and keep your customers informed and engaged during their wait.
Lots to do. Dont’ wait.
-Alex
“This is the BEST thing since sliced bread”
Johnson County’s DMV is closing their offices for a week starting tomorrow, so there’s a rush on their two offices today. As I write this, they have 925 customers waiting in their virtual queues for service. The lobby at each office can accommodate abut 120 people. Imagine, for a moment, if Johnson County did not offer QLess service, to allow customers to use their cell phone to manage their spot in line. Imagine how crowded both offices would be. Imagine yourself crowded into a standing-room-only environment, waiting for 4 hours for service. Then imagine that someone at Johnson County asked you for feedback on your waiting experience. Ok, now you have your non-QLess base-line. 
QLess sent each customer that queued by phone at Johnson County today the following SMS once they were done with their transaction:
“We hope you enjoyed using our QLess service to avoid standing in line. Please text us back & let us know about your waiting experience! Thanks! http://QLess.com”
Here are their replies:
- Awesome! I’ll definitely use this feature again, thank you!
- That was awesome. I love the Qless service.did not have to come and Lineup for hours.
- Quick and painless
- Excellent!
- Actually a very cool service thank you!!
- Awesome new system!
- Awesome!
- was so nice to walk in & a few minutes later, walk out. Thanks again
- I really, really appreciated using your QLess service. I called about every 30 minutes to check & see how many people were in front of me.
- so much better
- This was really time saving.
- Fantastic system
- Enjoyed the updates..was able to work and come back
- was able to take my young son with me and didnt have to stand and wait stressfully
- Thanks! Went good
- fantastic nice to see a system that works the way it should
- Much more convenoient-thankyou
- Fantastic experience! Least painful trip I’ve ever had to the dmv!
- It’s brilliant. The system was fantastic, worked beautifully and my wait was minimal. Thanks!
- It was very nice not to have to wait in line
- Awesome!!
- Absolutely fantastic! JoCo rocks!
- Loved it! Thanks
- THAT was AWESOME!!!!!! The best DMV experience ever
- This is the best service ever. Thank you
- I Like the system. Was able to paint a bedroom during the time I would have been in line!
- Much more convenient
- It was much better then waiting in line.
- Good idea
- Love it
- loved it
- Yes your timing was within 5 minutes of being correct thank you for the organization
- I think your service is one of the most innovative since the 1920′s, besides computers & cell phones. And it looks like almost everyone there was using it too. Thanks so much!
- That was fantastic!!! I love this system!!! Hahahahaha
- Fantastic system! Unbelievably good experience!
- It was awsome. First time user.
- It was much easier being able to leave without losing my place in line. Much more convenient and I really like being able to check my waiting time on my phone. Thank you!
- Outstanding system
- Awesome
- Loved using this service…perfect!
- It worked well.
- Best thing the state did to save peoples time
- It was awesomely simple! Thanks!
- This was the best system I’ve seen. It was very easy to use and very efficient. I plan on recommending to others and continuing to use for my own needs.
- Walked right in and up to the window, right past the line and the lobby-full of people . No wait!
- Best system ever invented. My only suggesting would be to make this system prominent on the DMV website!
- Thank you this was much better.
- Brilliant !
- Fantastic!
- Wonderful!
- Outstanding. Thanks for using technology to make my life easier
- Not bad…thanks for the updates
- Thanks. Ran errands and even went home and set the table for my dinner party tonite!
- Awesome but please don’t move, change systems and refurbish the building all in the same year!
- Was awesome! Thanks.
- It was very efficient!
- Wonderful system. It made my tag renewal process painless.
- Very good I’m really Lovett
- Good system, I was able to leave have breakfast and return on time with the updates, thanks.
- The experience went well. Thanks
- Makes it a much easier process
- I am happy
- Very efficient! Thank you
- Outstanding! Enjoyed the whole experience!
- Good
- Much better system
- Excellent service! Saved me 2 hrs of waiting!!
- Outstanding. So glad you have this system in place
- I walk in, wait maybe 5 minutes and I’m done. it’s awesome!
- Everything went smoothly. Thanks for not making me stand in line.
- That was get. Called my number the second I stepped in the door.
- Was painless! Thank you much!
- This is SO much better than waiting in line! Especially since the crowds were heavy from the anticipation of the DMV closing for a week or two. Thanks!
- It was good
- Effective system. No problems
- Loved the experience arrived aboutg 5 mins before my slotted time this is a terrific system
- Cool
- Very pleasant! My clerk was extraordinary!!! Thanks
- I LOVE this service!!!
- Very easy. Very convenient. Made my wait much shorter and service went smoothly.
- It was the best ! Better than sex !
- Awesome! Thank you!
- It was the first time I had done it this way and all went very well. Thanks for such a nice system!
- Excellent customer service! The representatives were friendly and personable while helping each customer.
- Excellent service. I waited only 10 minutes at the DMV!
- You’re service is so helpful it’s incredible! I couldn’t keep a grin off my face as I walked past hundreds, straight to the window, and was out in 5 minutes max. QLess is the only way to go!
- AWSOME! A real tIme saver. Spared me a lot of stress & aggravation. THANKS!
- awesome. the least time I have ever spent at the dmv
- Amazing I was in the DMV a total of 5mins!!!!
- It was short thx
- Awesome
- Done in 20 min just as promised
- This is the BEST thing since sliced bread!!!
“Love the system. I don’t know how we did without it before”
Check out this great customer feedback from QLess users at the Johnson County DMV.
Post Offices Are Closing From Poor Queue Management
According to the U.S. Postal Service, December 19 and 20 will be the busiest mailing days this year for holiday cards and packaging. Many people will be sending their packages in hopes of reaching their destinations prior to Christmas Day. But with big demand comes big, frustrating lines.
This article from the Washington Post describes just how bad it’s getting at the Postal Service:
“Loyal readers of The Federal Eye regularly complain about the long lines and grumpy postal workers working at the neighborhood post office…There were 59 million fewer visits to post offices in 2010 than in 2009, and visits are down 21 percent over the last decade.”
Post offices are closing down all the time, because people are fed up with waiting sometimes over an hour just to send a package.
The U.S. Postal Service is notorious for long lines during peak times of the year, and their solutions are never logical. In 2007, their solution to alleviating the frustration of waiting in long lines was to remove clocks from over 37,000 locations nationwide.
Are you kidding me? Post offices aren’t casinos. People won’t get caught up in the frenzy and fun of mailing packages that it causes them to send more packages. And here’s a news flash for the Postal Service, people wear watches.
Trying to trick customers into thinking they’ve spent less time waiting is not the answer to better queue management. The QLess SMS queue manager could revolutionize government agencies like the Postal Service, the DMV, the Social Security Administration, and courthouses.
Instead of removing clocks, send your customer a text message when it’s their turn in line.
Post Office Lines Exposed
Retailers Suffer From Customers Waiting In Line During Holidays
Black Friday has a lot of appeal to millions of people around the U.S. not just because of the great deals, but also because it gets them in the holiday spirit. For some families, it kicks off their holiday festivities to get started on the first official day of Christmas shopping. However, that giddy feeling of waking up early or staying up really late to get a cheap TV is often washed away by the look of the line to check out.
Brick-and-mortar retailers are continually feeling the effect of online retail giants like Amazon gaining ground on their holiday shopping turf. Nearly half of U.S. consumers say they plan to shop online this holiday season, up from about a third last year, according to a recent survey from consulting firm Deloitte.
A recent article from the Wall Street Journal describes the frustration of waiting in line during the holiday season and the struggle to find the “right” checkout line.
“Shoppers tend to become impatient quickly and fail to take into account key indicators of what may slow down a line. They experience remorse when they feel they’ve chosen the wrong (i.e. slower) line. And they prefer to choose their own line rather than wait in a single-file line for the next available register — even though that setup has proven to be faster, research on queuing shows.”
Retailers know that they can lose customers from long, intimidating lines, and yet they still don’t get it. Instead of investing in a sophisticated queue management system, they try other gimmicks. Disney employees try to entertain customers while they wait in line, and Home Depot clerks stand in front of their register to alert customers of open checkout lanes. This may help temporarily, but it doesn’t solve the guests’ real problem of wasting time standing in line.
Imagine going to a Target, registering your name and cell phone number at a kiosk, checking in when ready to make your purchases, then receiving a text message on your cell phone when it’s your turn. During your wait, you continue to shop or grab a latte at the in-store Starbucks. Ultimately, both parties win. Not wasting your time standing in a crowded line allows for both happy customers and the potential for additional purchases to be made while waiting.
The scenario I just described is possible with Qless, a revolutionary SMS queue management system. What are YOU waiting for? Improve your customers’ holiday shopping experience next year by implementing our cutting-edge queue management system.
Santa Fly By: Skip the Long Line to See Santa This Year!
Check out this very well-done video explaining how QLess is saving families at Washington Square Mall this year from having to stand in line to see Santa.
–Tim
Teach DMV workers to be polite – now that’s the answer
750,000 residents use the Providence, RI DMV system annually and most note long lines as the reason for the negative public image it has. So what do you do to solve the biggest problem they have? You bring in an insurance company to teach sensitivity training to the workforce of course. It all makes perfect sense, just combine the bureaucracy of the insurance industry with the great taste of a government run DMV and you’ve got a recipe for success. Instead of fixing the problem, utilize significant funding and resources to train a workforce that likely already has low job satisfaction and high turnover. Perhaps they didn’t know that QLess is ending long lines and improving the customer experience at leading DMVs across the nation. Check out what we’re doing in Johnson County for an example. And if you’re one of those unfortunate Providence customers, let them know there is a better way.
Skip the Fracking Lines
When it comes time to be heard on an issue that is sensitive to public policy and personal convictions, the governing body has an obligation to listen to its constituents and gather information and insights before rendering decisions. Municipalities small and large face issue ranging from smoking bans to permitting to budget. This week in Manhattan, the sensitive topic of hydraulic fracturing, otherwise known as Fracking, comes to light in public hearings that are expected to draw extremely long lines of people waiting to be heard. And guess what happens when people endure long lines and tireless hours waiting to be heard in these public forums? You guessed it. They get angry. Let’s put an end to the disorderly and ring in a better way to let voices be heard with QLess.
At the top of my holiday list: pictures with Santa without the wait
For any parent, seeing your young child meet Santa, sit on his lap and share her Christmas wish list is a time-honored tradition. Extending the holiday shopping season means there are more opportunities for the kids to see Santa, and more locations to do so as well. At the same time, the outfits have gotten more high-tech and opportunistic. Now, there are professionally-taken photographs and packages that can be ordered, limitations on personal camera use, and even candy and hot chocolate buying opportunities in some high-end malls. And unfortunately, most have one thing in common beyond the jolly man with long white beard: the wait in line. Kids don’t want to wait. Adults don’t want to wait. Frankly, we’d rather be spending money at other stores than spend it standing among crying toddlers. Luckily, there are now several malls where Santa uses QLess to virtually manage long lines, so we as parents don’t have to stand in them!
http://qless.com
