Lancaster Archery Supply Retail Queue Management
Last updated on 24 July 2019
Since 1983, Lancaster Archery Supply has fuelled the growth of archery by providing archery equipment to businesses, organizations, and individuals worldwide. With the highest levels of integrity, technical expertise, and customer service, it has earned respect as a leader in the industry. The company’s retail location is staffed with the best Customer Service TechXPerts known to the sport of archery.
Lancaster Archery Supply is one of the biggest 3D archery stores in the world, and has customers from across the globe.
Before having a queuing solution
The archery store used the old-fashioned ticketing system Turn-O-Matic. This system posed several problems.
First, the system was not personal. Clients didn’t like to be regarded as numbers.
Second, staff couldn’t track the number of people in the store or why those people had come. The old approach toward line management didn’t provide a clear overview of what was happening in the showroom.
Third, customers complained about the amount of time they had to wait before receiving service from a TechXPert. Time after time, clients told staff members that they had been waiting for hours. A conversation that starts this way typically doesn’t end with a sale and a happy customer.
“The old ticketing system, Turn-O-Matic, was very impersonal. We couldn’t track how many people were waiting and where they were.” Chris Scott, Showroom Manager at Lancaster Archery Supply.
Lancaster Archery Supply understood that, to improve customer service, boost sales, and increase revenue, it needed a visitor waiting line management system that was more innovative and forward-thinking.
The queuing setup at Lancaster Archery Supply
The Qminder setup in the archery store consists of three main steps.
First, customers sign up for assistance. Next to the store’s entrance, in an ArmorActive floor stand, is an iPad where customers can enter their names to get help from the archery TechXPerts.
Three Qminder TVs let customers know when they will be called. Multiple screens give shoppers more freedom to move around the store. The Qminder overview split screen shows clients who have been served, and those who are up next. The screen gives clients the information they need, and notifies a client when his or her name is called.
“Our customers know that they are waiting for the service and can see on the TV if they are the next up. They feel free to move around the showroom.”
The archery TechXPerts can call their next customers from the computer by using any modern web browser. There is no need to buy extra hardware or even download new software. If staff members walk around the store, they can use a tablet or even a phone to help customers. No barrier exists between them, like it usually does when they are behind the serving desk.
Qminder’s queuing solution retail benefits
Now the staff members greet every customer by name. Consequently, clients are more open, a fact that leads to more sales.
“Qminder has significantly helped in the daily work with customers. Now a consumer has a name, not a number. We can greet with a more personal environment”
The Qminder iPad application is also easy to use. People simply enter their names, and that’s it!
Qminder split-screen digital signage on Qminder TVs in the showroom lets shoppers know when their names are called for service. They are free to move around and explore more goods, something they couldn’t do under the old waiting-line system.
There are four Qminder TVs in total, with one in the service area, so that Lancaster Archery technicians can keep an eye on customer flow.
“Qminder allows us to plan our workflow better. We can categorize the customer, we know how many customers there are in the line for a specific service, who’s there for pickup or who needs a new string for their bow or looking for a new bow. The clerks working in the back can come up front when additional help is needed.”
Lancaster Archery Supply can quickly test Qminder’s performance. The company set up a tablet and tested it with actual clients. The clients loved it.
The setup cost for the archery store was about $2000, which initially included two Qminder TVs and an iPad with a floor stand.
Time after time, under the old system, angry clients told employees that they had been waiting for hours. Now clients can see how long their wait times will be. Qminder has completely eliminated Lancaster Archery Supply’s waiting problems.
“Clients exaggerated the time of waiting, but now we can see how long it actually is.”
LAS retail queuing solution conclusion
Lancaster Archery Supply’s use of Qminder illustrates the ways in which a small investment made by a specialized retail store can significantly improve service.
Store customers don’t want to be considered numbers. Greet your clients by name and make their experiences personal.
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