QLess Restaurants
Benefits
QLess brings you increased revenue by reducing turn-aways, reducing no-shows, and shifting excess demand to off-peak hours, all resulting in more tables filled.
By empowering your customers with the freedom to wait for a table where they want and how they want, you decrease their perceived wait time. This results in an increase in the amount of time that they're willing to wait for a table, which in turn results in fewer turn-aways. A recent study found that letting customers use their cell phones to be notified instead of coaster pagers resulted in 9.1% fewer turn-aways.
| QLess recently performed a case study at one of our restaurant customers, with the results shown here. After adding QLess, as customers were willing to wait longer for tables, the restaurant spent more time at or near their capacity, increasing the overall number of tables filled. In this case, QLess provided 45% more seated customers, among those who waited for a table! |
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Better customer experience
Products are consumed, but services are experienced. QLess gives your customers a more satisfying experience, which can give you an enormous edge over your competition. QLess reduces your customers' perceived wait time, even if their actual wait time doesn't change at all. A recent study found that letting customers use their cell phones to be notified instead of coaster pagers resulted in 29% more satisfied customers.
"Unlike the other service waits, satisfaction with the service-entry wait significantly influenced customer satisfaction and willingness to either recommend the restaurant to others or bring friends to the restaurant." -- Rhonda L. Hensley
In fact, as your customers' satisfaction increases, you'll be able to tell how often they're bringing friends back to the restaurant because of...
Enhanced data collection
QLess provides a wealth of customer data collection that can be transformed into a wide variety of reports. These reports can provide you with key insights into the way you run your business, in ways that were previously impossible. Because QLess tracks your customers by their phone numbers, there is ample data on repeat customers at your disposal.
Reduce or eliminate reservations
Deciding whether or not to accept reservations can be a tough call for a restaurant. If a restaurant doesn't accept reservations, customers may not be willing to wait around for a table. If it does accept reservations, it's often faced with more empty tables, due to no-shows.
"Appointment systems are, in practice, troublesome queue-management tools. They suffer from the problem that some customers may make appointments without showing up and from the fact that it is often difficult to decide how far apart to schedule appointments." -- David H. Maister
In fact, 15-40% of reservations result in no-shows. This has led many restaurants to adopt a no-reservations policy, simply because it results in more filled tables. QLess makes it much easier to reduce or eliminate the need for reservations, as your customers can even get in line for a table from home, and be notified when it's time to leave for the restaurant.
Reduce hostess hassles
On a busy night, how often do your hosts & hostesses have to deal with questions like this?
"You told us it would be 10 minutes and we've been waiting for 15. How many more people are ahead of us on the list?"
"I stepped out for a few minutes. Did you call our name yet?"
"Well, I didn't hear you call our name..."
It's hard enough for hosts & hostesses with a paper wait list to keep track of customers coming and going from the list, let alone dealing with the barrage of questions from customers just trying to get an update. QLess lets your customers request on-demand updates by calling or texting the system, and finding out right away how many people are ahead of them, and how long their expected wait will be.
Real-time Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
QLess lets you call and/or message customers while they are waiting for a table. You can send promotions, announcements, targeted ads, and much more.
Only Pay For What You Use
If your restaurant is only on a wait a couple nights a week, paying for a pager system may seem like an unnecessary expense. QLess works on a subscription model, where you only pay for what you actually use.
Considering coaster pagers, or already have them?
Find out how QLess stacks up against coaster pagers. If you've already bought coaster pagers, we'll buy them back from you!
Here's an Example of How it Works:
A family is planning to dine out. Mom says she'd like to go to Rick's Bistro, which happens to be at the local mall. But Dad grouses that there's always such a long wait there, and he hates just sitting there, waiting for a table. Mom smiles as she pulls from her purse a note she made during her last shopping trip, when she saw a sign in front of Rick's Bistro saying, "To add yourself to our wait list, simply call 555-123-4567, and key in 'RICKS', or text the word 'RICKS' to 555-123-4567. Then go do whatever you want while we hold your spot in line."
Mom calls the number. QLess plays a custom greeting from Rick's Bistro, then asks how many are in her party, and in response to Mom's entry, informs her that the current wait at Rick's for a party of four is 95 minutes. QLess then asks Mom whether she wants QLess to hold a place in line for the family. Mom pushes "1" for "yes". QLess confirms the entry, tells Mom it will contact her with periodic status updates, and ends the call.
Knowing their place in line is secure, Mom suggests that the family head over to the mall and use the wait-time to do a bit of shopping. Approximately 75 minutes and three shops later, QLess calls Mom's cell phone to inform her that the line at Rick's Bistro moved faster than expected, and the wait-time is down to 10 minutes. Mom checks with Dad, who says he'd like a little more time to browse the magazine rack at the mall's bookstore, and since they are a 10-minute walk from the restaurant, Mom asks QLess to increase the family's wait-time from 10 to 30 minutes. QLess acknowledges the request and adjusts the wait list accordingly.
20 minutes later, QLess calls Mom's cell phone to inform her that the wait at Rick's Bistro is again down to 10 minutes, and the family makes its way toward the restaurant. Just as they arrive, Mom gets one final call from QLess letting her know that their table is ready. The family presents the hostess with their "ticket" (Mom's cell phone number). The hostess seats the happy family, and QLess adjusts the wait list accordingly.
Ready to try it?
Contact us today to arrange for an interactive demonstration. We offer a full range of integrated solutions, and will work with you to determine the best fit for your needs.