Restaurant Queue Management: How to Do It Like a Pro?

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“Did you know Queue Stander is an actual profession tag?” 

The need for such a thing clearly shows us that people find it utterly annoying to stand in queues. They prefer to pay the queue standers to save their space in lines.

But this concept of queue standers can’t help much when the line is outside a restaurant.

Who wants to wait anyways when they are hungry? No one!

Even if the restaurant offers favorite cuisines and recipes of Samay, he won’t be willing to wait in line. He would rather explore a new one that welcomes him instantly.

That’s the major issue you can face while managing a restaurant in today’s smart world.

People are always on a go to explore something new. That’s what they like. So you need to incorporate ideal strategies for your restaurant queue management, or your customers will move on to your competitors in no time.

Want to avoid this situation? This blog will help you big time.

Why Is It Essential to Manage Queues?

If you are yet not convinced to work on the queue management issue, let me help you a bit by discussing why is it essential:

1. To enhance productivity

Have you noticed that when you are under pressure, you can’t work efficiently?

On the other hand, if you are rested and in comfort, you work flawlessly with zest and zeal. Your work quality and quantity both get enhanced.

In the same way, when customers are waiting, it will put pressure on you to serve them one after one. The orders may get mixed, you might not be able to serve them quality food, and people may order and leave because you kept them waiting.

In short, long queues can take a toll on your productivity and customer satisfaction.

2. To earn more customers

If you do not have enough seating arrangements for your customers, why would they enter your restaurant?

They won’t!

You will lose your potential customers and even your regular ones. Just because you were not ready to welcome them when they wished to.

Therefore, to make your restaurant available for passing customers and earning a loyal customer base, getting rid of queues is necessary.

3. To build a good reputation

“No, don’t go there! You will get breakfast at the dinner time!”

This may seem funny, but no review can be as brutal as this one. And just to remind you, today’s restaurant businesses flourish through good reviews.

Whenever anyone has to visit a restaurant or order online, the first thing they do is check the ratings and reviews or they get a heads up from their friends who have visited earlier.

This means that making your restaurant crowded with people will get you nowhere.

It is the primary thing to organize the customer rush and reduce the waiting time in your restaurant in order to save its reputation.

Also Read: Tips to increase your Zomato ratings 

How to Manage Queues in Your Restaurants?

However, managing queues can seem like child’s play but believe me it needs far more effort than you think.

Explore a few effective strategies here to handle queues like a pro:

1. Analyze rush hours

The first and foremost thing required to deal with queues is to know the time when they reach their peak.

Yes, to know the rush hours of your restaurant!

Each restaurant can have varied rush hours depending on its location, the food it offers, pricing, and many other factors. Therefore, it is a must to observe and note down the instants when your restaurant gets accelerated customer flow during the day.

This will help you prepare in advance to set up the energy as per the rush you are expecting. Managing the whole inventory, preparing your staff, and maintaining fluent coordination among different departments of your restaurant.

2. Adopt a queuing system

Your customer Samay is standing in a big line waiting to reach the counter, and SNAP! Someone broke the line and stood ahead of him.

Now even if you have witnessed this scene you can’t take sides because you have to please both your customers. 

Many times these situations end with heated arguments in public. Well, they are fun if you are not a part of them. Just kidding.

To avoid these happenings, you should sign up for a restaurant queue management system right away.

Here’s how it works:

It helps you assign a spot (basically a number) to each customer in a queue when they place an order. They can get seated peacefully and wait for their order to prepare. 

Now, the queuing system has a screen that flashes the number whose order has been prepared. The moment they see their assigned number on the screen, they will come & receive the meal.

This will reduce the rush at your order counter and will systemize the way customers come and get their orders.

3. Take pre-orders

For avoiding a queue, your customers must be coming, having meals, and leaving to make the space up for other customers. 

Now, this is evident that if a customer has taken a seat, he is not going to hurry up, he will sit and relax. You can’t tell your customers to leave after all, can you?

But there is one thing that is in your control which is to serve them instantly, the moment they get seated.

And frankly, customers too want their orders super quick. They would even love it if they could order in advance so when they reach the place they won’t have to wait. 

Yes, you can do this to reduce the waiting time.

Rather you must take pre-orders. Especially from your regular customers because it would be convenient for them to pre-order things. And believe me, this will make you stand out among your competitors.

4. Maintain a waiting area

Usually, waiting areas aren’t appealing because it doesn’t make much difference whether you stand in a line or sit in one.

But the way you build and maintain your waiting area makes all the difference. And it is one of the top aspects of restaurant queue management.

You can make the waiting area exciting by adding trendy and catchy activities in it.

I have seen restaurants keep their guests busy with stuff like board games, selfie sections, live music performances, karaoke, television screens, and whatnot.

There is a particular restaurant I like to go to only for playing Jenga blocks they have kept on their tables!

Sounds silly?

But in my thinking, when people go out somewhere it’s the ‘silly things’ they count on to escape from their regular busy lives.

And as restauranteurs, you earn yourself time to make space for the new customers in the meantime.

5. Keep your guests updated

One of the most important things you should never compromise with is your loyalty towards your customers.

In the desperate need to keep a customer in your restaurant, never give a vague idea about the waiting time because it will eventually backfire on your restaurant’s image.

Because your guest will be happy with the early entry but won’t stand the delay.

And whatever the waiting time is, always keep a 5 minutes margin to it.

Even if they do not ask, tell them about the exact time it will take for you to keep things ready for them.

You can ask them gently to place their order in advance (if they want to) and enjoy other activities you have furnished in your restaurant.

6. Hire sufficient staff

The most basic thing you would need to manage the queue flow properly is a sufficient number of staff members working for you.

The number of chefs, servers, and management crew determines a lot about the ‘queue handling’ parameter at your restaurant.

According to a source, your restaurant should have 1 server per 4 - 5 tables. And the no. of chefs may vary depending on the complexity of your restaurant’s menu and the size of the kitchen, but the average is 4 chefs and prep-cooks per 50 tables in a casual seated restaurant.

Apart from this, your management staff for taking up the orders, processing the bills, and welcoming guests play a crucial role in setting up the required hospitality.

If you lack these prime members then you can just dream about having smooth management of queues at your restaurant.

7. Welcome online orders

The digital world has allowed people to enjoy food from their favorite outlet in the comfort of their homes.

And when this happens, you save the physical space required to accommodate your guests.

Therefore, in the seating arrangement of 50 people, you can serve 100 people (if you are lucky enough) at one go without any guests waiting at your door.

And the third-party delivery services will make it even easier for you because you do not have to manage and maintain a delivery process and a delivery crew of your own. You can just list your restaurant on these platforms and get online orders.

8. Suitable staff training

This may be the last thing I am discussing but it has all the weightage of this blog. The queue management can only go right if you know how to talk and behave with your customers.

A staff that lacks the endurance to welcome every customer with the same warmth can never retain new customers. Therefore, the staff training should include the basic methods that are appealing to your guests.

How your staff interacts with customers tells a lot about your restaurant.

A simple welcome, arranging the desired seats for guests, if they are waiting then asking them to place an order, and assisting them with the status of their order can make them feel involved.

On the other hand, just making them see that you do not have space in your restaurant and not reacting to their presence can shoe them away for even their potential future visits.