
Campus services with WaitWell: virtual and faster queues, happier students and empowered staff (Video)
Our Community Engagement Manager Jeff Shikaze demonstrates how WaitWell’s queue management, scheduling, and automation tools transform student services in higher education.

Table of Contents
Transcript
Are you struggling with long lines? Are you constantly dealing with student miscommunications, and is your staff feeling burnt out? My name is Jeff from the WaitWell team, and I’m going to take the next few minutes to show you how WaitWell is addressing three key pain points for student service centers. Are you experiencing any of the following pain points?
- Student No-Shows: How can we eliminate bottlenecks and service gaps and increase staff output?
- Staff Stress: We find that staff typically lack visibility and control over the service operations, which is adding to staff stress. So, how can we increase job satisfaction and empower your staff, all while increasing productivity?
- Lack of Meaningful Data and Insights: Providing you with the data you need to make sound operational decisions and by doing so, optimizing your service delivery.
In addition to these, I’m going to be demonstrating how WaitWell can enhance your operational efficiency and how our solution focuses not only on improving your staff’s working environment but also on elevating the student experience.
What is WaitWell? (1:02)
If you aren’t familiar with WaitWell, we’re a queue management and booking platform built for the busy. From architecture to features, our queue management system was specifically designed to help organizations with multi-service operations deliver one-to-one service with excellence. When it comes to higher education, our primary use cases include queue management, appointment management, virtual services, analytics and reporting, service workflow automation, and student insights.
Tour of WaitWell (1:53)
During our demo today, I’ll be touching on some of the following key features: self-service check-in, real-time wait times, two-way texting, automated reminders and updates, student reviews and ratings, waivers and intake forms, and ticket transfers between queues, locations, and even staff members.
Joining the Walk-In Line (1:59)
Let’s start with how students access services. This is the join page, where a student can join a line or book an appointment from anywhere—a QR code, a website link, a self-service kiosk, or a tablet at your office. This page can be customized to your school’s colors, various locations, and queues on campus.
I’ll go through two examples of students accessing services: first, the student joining the walk-in line and then a student booking an appointment. Let’s start with joining the walk-in line at Financial Services.
This brings us to the sign-in page, where you’ll see an estimated wait time at the top. As a theme throughout WaitWell, you’re able to customize each of these fields. In this case, we’re being asked for first and last name, student ID number, and, of course, what service the student is here for. You can also request attachments, possibly a picture of an ID, an application, a transcript, or even prompt an intake or waiver form. I’m going to select scholarship information, and it’ll ask how I’d like my service to be completed—in person, a phone call, or a virtual meeting. I’d like to meet virtually. For virtual service, we can integrate with Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams, depending on which virtual platform your school uses.
Once the student joins the line, they’ll be informed of their place in the queue, estimated wait time, and any information or instructions they may need to know. WaitWell will automate reminders, updates, and any custom messages you may choose. Two-way texting is also available through our platform, so both the student and staff member can communicate prior to service. This can certainly help avoid any confusion or delays.
Booking an Appointment (3:40)
Okay, let’s show you what it looks like for a student to book an appointment. Back on the join page, I’ll rebook the same service as we did before. I’ll choose the date, my preferred method of service, and my desired time. Now, WaitWell has its own built-in appointment booking calendar; however, we can also integrate with Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar. I’ll fill out my information and book the appointment. To decrease no-shows, we allow the student to control their own appointment—they can put themselves on hold and even cancel and reschedule directly from their phone. We can also set it up so that the student has to confirm their appointment via SMS or email.
Staff Queue Screen Overview (4:25)
Now let’s turn our attention to your staff and show you how easy it is for them to use WaitWell. This is the queue screen—essentially, everything your frontline staff needs is right here. When a student joins the line, this creates a ticket in the queue. Each color signifies a different service type. This is the Financial Services queue, and you can see my ticket I just created at the bottom. Looking at my ticket, you can see who they are, what service they’re here for, whether they’re a walk-in or appointment, and whether they’re an in-person, phone call, or virtual meeting.
Workflow Automation (5:41)
Now, let’s say a student is running late or appears to be a no-show for an appointment. Our system will automatically fill that space with a walk-in, so bottlenecks and idle staff aren’t an issue anymore. WaitWell has two-stage waiting, which allows you to control the flow and capacity of your waiting area. Just set this stage here to how many students you’d like to see fit within your office waiting room. As students are being served, WaitWell will automatically move the queue along and simultaneously alert the next student in line that you’re ready for them.
Ticket Actions (6:21)
On every service ticket, there are a number of different actions you can take. I can write notes on the ticket for future reference, I can send a direct message to the student, I can prioritize certain tickets, put students on hold, and prompt a waiver form. There is a full history of every student on their ticket—full ticket details, notes from other staff members, a communication log, and ticket info from all their interactions they’ve ever had during their time on campus.
Ticket Transfer (6:53)
Now, if there is one product feature I want to highlight for you today, it’s our ticket transfer. Whenever you need to transfer a student to another location, queue, or even another staff member—maybe it’s an escalation or part of an approval process—our system enables you to transfer the student ticket seamlessly.
Data and Analytics (7:46)
Now, for my favorite part of the tour: data and analytics. Starting with a real-time dashboard—current and peak wait times, total services completed, and no-shows—this dashboard will assist in managing demand peaks and valleys. Managers love having this available to them, whether in the office or working remotely. You can toggle between days as well.
Integrations (9:08)
WaitWell can integrate with your CRM, Outlook and Google Calendars, virtual meeting platforms, student information system, and more to simplify workflows and ensure that you always have the information that you need. Our integrations empower you to authenticate identification before students join the queue, sync calendar availability, and schedule appointments, generate secure meeting links, export data to your other tools for archiving and data mining, facilitate the flow of student data between WaitWell and your CRM, and see all of your student data in one place within WaitWell.
Additional Use Cases (9:47)
In addition to the core features demonstrated, there are three more components to the WaitWell system worth mentioning:
- Service Accessibility: WaitWell’s accessibility features empower you to serve students with disabilities, language barriers, and those who require virtual service.
- Staff Scheduling: WaitWell also offers staff scheduling, monitoring staff activity at a glance for enhanced productivity and organization.
- Payments: WaitWell will give your students the option to pay for services that require it in advance of their turn or appointment.
Thank you so much for your time, and we hope to hear from you soon.