Here are tips for queue handling.
1) When managing your store’s queue, it is important to influence your customers’ perception of their waiting. Studies show some of the problems can be alleviated by reducing the boredom, can you do something to keep them entertained?
2) When the queues start to get really big, here is a tip, use a function in our point of sale software which allows one computer to run multiple cash draws. It is best to be prepared by having your extra cash draw ready to go but in a pinch, you can always move the cash draw itself from a non-busy area to a busy area. Now when the lines start to bank up you or your employees only need to switch on the cash drawer and start serving your customers.
3) I would suggest that you set up a policy that if say more then four people are lined up, activate a queue line and make sure that the people waiting are notified that you are trying to serve them and make a new queue. Now, this is an interesting study done in the TV show myth busters episode 242 which you may want to consider, what myth busters did was examine whether one long queue is more effective than several and what did people think.
In a grocery store, the best way to move customers through a series of checkout counters is to have one long line and route each customer to the next available checkout.
BUSTED
Adam and Jamie set up a mock-store in an empty hangar, with fully stocked shelves and 5 checkout counters manned by experienced cashiers. Upon entering the store, each of 90 volunteers selected a specified number of items and recorded the time when they queued and the time when they reached a checkout counter. For additional realism, a percentage of shoppers were instructed to slow things down by asking for a price check or by paying with a personal check. After checking out, the volunteers would indicate their overall satisfaction with the experience.
In the initial test, the volunteer shoppers were free to choose their own checkout counter and queue behind it. The average wait time using this method was 5:39 and the average satisfaction rating was 3.48 out of 5. In the second test, shoppers were guided through a single serpentine line and then directed to the next available checkout counter. The average wait time using this method was higher at 6:56 but the spread between minimum and maximum times was tighter. The average satisfaction increased to 3.80 with the single-line method due to it being regarded as fairer. Adam and Jamie judged the myth as busted based on average time, but also called the single-line method better based on customer satisfaction.
