Virtual queue vs. ticket machine: which queue system is right for your business?

If people wait their turn at your business — a clinic, a pharmacy, a service counter, a barber, a repair shop — you need some way to keep the order fair. There are four common approaches, and the right one depends mostly on how long people wait and how much you want to spend.

1. A sign-in sheet or a paper list

The cheapest option: people write their name, staff call them in order.

• Good: free, no equipment.
• Bad: names on a public list, queue-jumping arguments, people crowding the counter to check their place, and staff shouting names.

Fine for a handful of customers a day. It doesn’t scale.

2. A “take a number” ticket dispenser

The red roll-of-tickets dispenser and a “Now serving” display.

• Good: simple, everyone understands it, fair.
• Bad: you buy the dispenser, the display and endless rolls of tickets. People still have to stay in the room and watch the display, and if they step out they miss their number.

3. A kiosk queue management system

A touchscreen kiosk that prints tickets, connected to displays and counter terminals — the kind you see in banks and government offices.

• Good: handles many services and counters, produces reports.
• Bad: expensive hardware, installation, and usually a yearly licence or monthly fee per location. Overkill for a small business.

4. A virtual queue on customers’ phones

Customers scan a QR code to take a number. Their phone shows the number and how many are ahead, and alerts them when it’s their turn. Staff call numbers from any computer or tablet, and a TV can show the numbers being called.

• Good: people can wait anywhere — outside, in the car, at the café next door. No tickets to buy, no special hardware. Less crowding at the counter.
• Bad: some customers don’t have a smartphone (staff can take a number for them), and the phone needs mobile data or Wi-Fi.

Side-by-side

The question that decides it: how long do people wait?

• Under 5 minutes: a ticket dispenser or even a sign-in sheet is fine — nobody is going anywhere.
• 10 minutes or more: a virtual queue is a clear win. Being able to leave the room is what customers value most, and it empties your waiting area.
• Many services and counters, high volume, strict reporting needs: a full kiosk system may be worth its price.

What to look for in a virtual queue

Not all phone-based queues are equal. For a small business, check:

1. No app to install. Customers won’t download an app to wait 20 minutes. It should work in the phone’s browser after scanning a QR code.
2. No sign-up for customers. Asking for a name and phone number slows everything down and creates data you then have to protect.
3. Phone alerts when it’s their turn — not just a page they have to keep refreshing.
4. A calling screen with sound for people who aren’t looking at their phone.
5. A way to serve people without smartphones, e.g. staff taking a number on their behalf.
6. Protection against abuse, such as one number per phone, or numbers that can only be taken on site.
7. Price. Many queue apps charge per location per month. For a single small location, a free tool may do everything you need.

A free option to try

The free virtual queue system on this site covers the list above: patients and customers scan a QR poster, get a number without installing anything, see how many are ahead and get a phone alert when called. Staff use any browser; a TV becomes the calling screen with voice announcements. It doesn’t collect names or phone numbers, and there’s no account to create.

It takes about ten minutes to set up — see how to set up a free queue system for a small clinic for a walkthrough.