Shortening waiting times in 39 TDC shops

When TDC decided to upgrade their queuing system, they were mainly looking to organise their customer flow. The fact that the management could get a live overview of the waiting situation in 39 shops simultaneously was a welcome bonus. TDC today use CFM from Qmatic for managing waiting times, planning staffing and for proving to the board that they are meeting their targets. Used together with a customer counting system TDC can also get a complete view of number of visitors each day and potential walk outs. As a result the management can take action if needed.

Background
As the largest telecom providers in Denmark, TDC has 63 shops around the country. TDC provides telephony, internet and TV services, and their shops have a steady flow of visitors. Customers are traditionally used to an automatic queuing system as part of the TDC in-store service.

As part of a larger refurbishing of the network of shops, TDC decided to upgrade their existing queuing system to Qmatic. While reviewing the customer flow in all shops, the management decided that around 30 shops wouldn’t need the new system.

“But both our customers and staff that were used to a queuing system, complained so much that we decided to have Qmatic in several stores that had previously had a queuing system,“ said Lars Søholm, Project Manager at TDC.

Today, 39 stores across Denmark are using Customer Flow Management (CFM) from Qmatic. The system has been rolled out over the past year and is now used in all High Street shops.
 

Management benefits
Originally the Qmatic system was installed to manage the customer flow, and to monitor waiting times. The fact that Lars can get a live overview of all 39 stores and use the information to be proactive in his customer service, was a welcome bonus.

“With our previous system, we would get a report the next day, when it was too late to do anything about any problem,” Lars said. “Now, with Qmatic, we can see what’s going on live, and if we need to take any measures to correct a situation, we can do it instantly.”

“We use the statistical reports mainly to see our waiting times. We have waiting time targets, set by our board, and by using this system we can prove that we are meeting our targets. In fact, we can prove that we have improved our waiting times since we’ve had Qmatic installed.”

Customer counting system
The Qmatic system is used together with a customer counting system. A photocell is activated each time someone walks into the shop and as a result, Lars can easily see number of customers visiting the shops each day. When he compares this data with customers served – as monitored by Qmatic – he can easily see the number of walk outs, i.e. customers that don’t wait around to get served and as such represent opportunities missed. Using this data he can take appropriate measures if necessary.
 
“We can also see if a shop has exceptionally long waiting times, and if so we will investigate,” Lars said. “It could mean that we are understaffed, in which case we will do something about it.”

Benefits to customers and staff
“The benefits to the customers are obvious. They don’t have to try and catch the attention of the advisors; something that can take up a lot of energy and cause a lot of stress,” Lars said.
 
“Now they can browse the shop, see what’s on offer, or just sit down and relax and watch what’s happening on the various screens that are displayed around the shop. They can also prepare for their meeting with their advisor, without the risk of losing their place in the virtual queue.”

“The staff are also more relaxed. They can take their time serving a customer without a queue building up in front of them, and causing stress.” As a result, TDC are giving better customer service, the staff have a relaxed and professional approach and a better job satisfaction.

How it works
TDC uses a Solo customer service point, currently with two service options, Sales and Service. As the customers walk into the store, they walk up to the Solo unit, select the service they need and press for a ticket. The ticket shows their number in the virtual queue.
 

LED displays strategically placed around the store show the number currently being served. When a new customer is called, their number is shown on the screen and the advisor walks out from behind the counter to meet the customer. There is also a display in the back office, so the store manager can see number of customers waiting along with the current waiting times.

TDC also use the Qmatic Management Portal and Dashboard. Lars Søholm can, from his office, see number of customers waiting, and current waiting times in all 39 shops live. Statistics generated by the system are automatically imported to a central database where they are matched, optimised and indexed. Reporting and analysing can be done centrally as well as locally in the shops. The application is web based so the user only needs an internet browser to access the system.

The system in TDC has an added function that enables the management to use the Solo unit for displaying advertising messages. These messages can be supported by messages printed on the tickets and displayed on the screens in the shop.