LineReserve

LineReserve, commonly referred to as online check-in, is an exciting new feature in LobbyCentral version 7.3.0 that gives your customers the flexibility to get in line, online!

This feature is already included in your LobbyCentral subscription, but it must be enabled before customers can use it. 

How it Works

1. Customers click a link on your website that takes them to the line reservation page in the ExpressLobby app.  You can also email or post the link on your social media pages and other customer communication.
2. On the reservation page, customers can select a location.
3. Reservations are valid for 30 minutes from the time it was created.  You can adjust the length of time if you would like to give the customer a larger window to arrive. 
4. When the customer arrives he or she notifies their arrival by checking in.  The position in the queue is determined by the reservation time, not the time the customer checked in.

If the customer checks in after the reservation has expired, he or she will be placed at the end of the queue.

Example Scenario

John plans to visit his credit union and knows that it is always busy between 11 am and 1 pm.  To reduce his wait time, he uses ExpressLobby to reserve a spot in line.

On the credit union's website, John clicks a link that opens ExpressLobby and creates a reservation at 11:45 am.   He now has a position in line that will be held until 12:15 pm, which is 30 minutes.   

John arrives at the credit union at 12:00 pm and confirms his arrival by checking in using the app.  This places him into the queue and notifies the users that John has checked in.

Three customers are waiting with the following check-in times:

1. Mary - 11:30 am
2. Tina - 11:50 am
3. Mark - 11:55 am

John's place in the queue will be after Mary, because his  reserved position time is 11:45 am.   

1. Mary - 11:30 am
2. John - 12:00 pm - Reservation created at 11:45 am
3. Tina - 11:50 am
4. Mark - 11:55 am

Notice that John's check-in time is the time that he arrived.  If the reservation time 11:45 am is used it would show an inaccurate wait time of 15 minutes.

Late Arrival

If John arrives more than 30 minutes after the start of his reservation, he will be placed at the end of the queue.  In other words, he has lost his earlier position in the queue.

1. Mary - 11:30 am
2. Tina - 11:50 am
3. Mark - 11:55 am
4. John - 12:20 pm

The 30-minute time limit prevents a customer from creating a reservation to be first in line at some point later in the day.  In that situation, the customer should schedule an appointment.

Enabling LineReserve

Before customers can start making reservations, this feature must be enabled in LobbyCentral.

1. Log into LobbyCentral with an administrator account.
2. Go to Tools->Administration.
3. In the left menu, click App Settings, and select ExpressLobby.
4. Check the box next to allow customers to create Line Reservations.
5. Verify that Allowed Actions is set to Walk-In Check-In or Appointment and Walk-In Check-In.
6. Save the changes.
7. You can also disable this feature by location by going to Tools - Administration - System Maintenance - Locations.  Click "Modify" on the location you would like to exclude and then scroll down until you see the check box "Exclude this location from LineReserve.

Creating the Link

A LineReserve link will automatically be created for you when you enable ExpressLobby.

1. Log into LobbyCentral with an administrator account.
2. Go to Tools-> Administration.
3. In the left menu, click App Settings, then select ExpressLobby.
4. In Allowed Actions, enable ExpressLobby by selecting Appointment Check-In, Walk-In Check-In, or Appointment and Walk-In Check-In.
5. Save your changes.

It is recommended to create your own Line Reservation Policy that your customers can refer to.  LobbyCentral displays a basic policy that mainly states that the reservation is not an appointment, and that the customer may still have a wait when arriving.