Sociavore's Waitlist feature is a digital queue management solution to keep track of customers waiting to be seated in your restaurant, in a more systematic way.
This digital system helps manage and optimize your waitlist, making the guests and staff happier and safer by eliminating long, crowded lines in front of your restaurant.
By visiting your website, scanning a QR code, or through your host stand, guests can instantly add themselves on the waitlist and know their waiting time.
Guests on the waitlist would receive links to menus they can review while they wait anywhere.
No pagers or new hardware required, and no manual typing of messages— with just a click, guests will receive a notification by text message or email.
How Does Sociavore Waitlist Work for my Guests?
Guests Can Add Themselves into the Waitlist
When you setup the waitlist from your Sociavore account, you will be given an option to allow customers to add themselves into the waitlist remotely. This will generate a QR code and link to your website that you can use on marketing materials and/or within your restaurant.
When guests visit the website link or scan the QR code, they will be redirected to the Waitlist registration form where they can see the current wait time as well as the number of parties ahead of them.
If they want to join the waitlist, they simply submit their details on the registration form. Alternatively, guests may ask restaurant employees personally or via phone to add them to the waitlist.
While waiting to be seated...
Guests can view the waitlist status, number of parties head of them, and the quoted wait time
Guest can click a button from the confirmation/status page to review the menu
Alternatively, they can click a button to leave the waitlist.
Once the guest is ready to be seated, they will be notified via sms and/or email
Guests who added themselves into the waitlist will receive sms notifications on the mobile number they submitted on the waitlist registration form.
Guests who were added by a restaurant employee may receive sms and/or email notifications.
How do I enable and set it up my restaurant's Waitlist?
Log in to your Sociavore account
Go to the Store Dashboard > [Reservations] icon > Waitlist tab, then click [Settings].
Toggle the switch to enable and customize the Waitlist settings.
Click the checkbox if you want to allow guests to add themselves to the waitlist. This will generate waitlist path (website link) and a QR code. When guests visit the website link or scan the QR code, they'll be redirected to the Waitlist registration form.
Select wait time quote: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 minutes
Choose how to send notifications and menu links to your customers: SMS, Email.
Don't forget to save the settings.
How do I Manage the Waitlist?
There are 2 ways to manage the Waitlist:
Log into your Sociavore Account - if you are an administrator of your restaurant's Sociavore account, you can add, view, edit, cancel, notify and seat waitlist parties by logging into your Sociavore account through the Store Dashboard > [Reservations] icon > Waitlist tab
Log into your Lightning Dashboard (Host App) - If you are a host or a front-of-house staff, you can manage the waitlist during service hours without having to log into the Sociavore account. The Lightning Dashboard allows you to manage the entire front of the house operations during service hours, such as the Waitlist. Here is a walkthrough on how to Manage Your Waitlist Through the Lightning Dashboard.
Add Guests to the Waitlist
At the upper right portion of the page, click [ADD PARTY].
A Party is a group of covers (a party of 4 covers).A Cover is an individual guest who will dine in.
Enter party details:
Guest information - Phone #, email address, first name, last name
Number of Covers (Guests)
Source - how guests got added to the Waitlist (walk-in or phone)
Wait time quote - 10/15/20/25/30 minutes
Note - additional information or instructions
Click [SAVE] to add the party.
A newly added party starts with a Pending Waitlist status.
Notify a Party
To notify a guest, click the [Notify] button on the party's record.
Select a Waitlist status message: Next Up or Ready.
Click [Send].
Edit, Cancel, or Seat a Party
To edit a party, click the [More] button of the party's record, click [Edit], modify details as needed, then click [Save].
To cancel a party, click the [More] button of the party's record, click [Cancel], then select [Yes].
To seat a party, simply click the [Seat] button.
View a Party
You can check the status of a party and these waitlist details:
Waitlist Status: Pending (for parties just added), Next Up, Ready
Party Details: guest count, mode of adding to waitlist, notes
Actual Wait: Lapsed time after joining or after notifying a party to be seated
Quoted time and Status: On time, late (not marked Ready after quoted time), or remaining waiting time
Lapsed time since Last Action: time after a party is queued or pinged
View Past Parties
You can view Seated or Lost parties for the day in the Past Parties tab. Here, you can see the following:
Total number of seated and lost parties and covers for the day
Percentage of seated parties and average wait time
Percentage of decrease of lost parties and covers
Party and Time Details: Quoted, Actual Wait, Seated Time
