Whether it be at the DMV, a restaurant or even at a theme park, standing in line is one is life’s major annoyances. Enter QLess, a startup that has developed a technology that eliminates the act of standing into line by letting people use their cell phones to get in a virtual, mobile line.

QLess, otherwise known as “virtual queue management,” is sold to businesses as an installation on touch screen kiosks or computers at an establishment. Users virtually enter the line at the kiosk, or from their computer with the designated line they’d like to join and their cell phone number. Qless’ technology will show the visitor how long the expected wait time is and will then send the user a text message or automated phone call when their wait time is up.

QLess is also fairly interactive; people can request more time or a status update after a designated time, or even leave the line at any time. While QLess is a technological investment for a small business or company, the plus for establishments is they have less grumpy consumers standing around and are able to create a more efficient environment to deliver their services.

The technology is already being used by a number of businesses around the country including Sprint, DMVs in Kansas and Missouri, a healthcare system in Oklahama and Border Grill.

As local businesses and governments become more comfortable with technology, QLess is seeing traction in the adoption of its offering. The number of people queued per month hit another record last month, with a 23% month over month increase, following on a 48% month over month growth in March, with almost half a million users. And in the past two years of operation, QLess has saved people a total of nine straight years of time in standing in line.

Crunchbase

• QLESS

Company: QLess

Website: qless.com

QLess sends voice calls and text messages to your customers’ cell phones, so they’re free to roam as far as their cell coverage will take them. Compare this to coaster pager systems, which not only have severely limited range, but customers have no idea how far they can go with them. It lets customers opt-in to SMS promotions from the merchant, and lets merchants easily build an SMS marketing channel.

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