Manage Walk-Ins and Booked Customers in One Live Queue with Smart Serve
Smart Serve allows you to manage all customer traffic, both booked appointments and walk-ins, in one live, continuously updating queue. Instead of switching between your calendar and ad-hoc processes for walk-ins, everything is handled in a single, shared view that reflects what is actually happening in real time.
Who Smart Serve Is Useful For
Smart Serve is useful for businesses that manage both appointments and walk-ins.
Typical examples include:
Opticians or clinics managing booked appointments, walk-ins, and limited specialist resources.
Bike shops or repair centres handling high walk-in traffic and changing service durations.
Larger locations managing several service areas or customer flows at the same time.
Smart Serve is most useful when staff need one live queue view, and customers need clear waiting-time information.
Here Is What You Need to Know
Smart Serve is part of the Advanced Scheduler app and builds on your existing TIMIFY setup.
It does not replace your calendar, but extends it by turning your daily schedule into a dynamic queue.
This app is available on request. Please contact Support or your Account Manager to activate it.
In practice, this means that:
Online bookings are automatically brought into the queue before they begin
Walk-in customers can be added at any time
Staff always see a live view of who is waiting, being served, or completed
Customers can follow their status through displays or mobile
The result is a more transparent and flexible service flow, especially during busy or unpredictable periods.
Article Structure:
1. How Smart Serve Works
2. How to Use the Queue Manager
4. How to Add Customers to the Queue
5. Check-In for Online Bookings
7. How to Set Up Customer-Facing Displays
1. How Smart Serve Works
At its core, Smart Serve connects your calendar with a live queue. However, you need to make the Service available to be part of the queue, otherwise bookings with this Service won’t appear there.
When a customer books online, their appointment does not immediately appear in the queue. Instead, it is automatically added shortly before the scheduled time. This ensures the queue only reflects what is relevant for current operations.
Walk-in customers, on the other hand, can be added instantly and are placed into the same queue as booked customers. From that moment on, both follow the same process.
As services begin and end, Smart Serve continuously recalculates timings. If something changes, for example, a service takes longer than expected, the system updates the queue order and waiting times automatically.
This ensures that:
Staff always work with up-to-date information
Customers receive accurate expectations
The schedule stays aligned with reality, not just the original plan
To open Smart Serve:
Go to Apps > Advanced Scheduler.
Open the Smart Serve interface.
2. How to Use the Queue Manager
The Queue Manager is the central place where you control daily operations.
It displays all customers as tickets, organised into columns that reflect their current status. These include:
Customers waiting in the queue
Customers being called
Customers currently in service
Completed services
No-shows
Each ticket contains key information such as the selected service, assigned staff member, and current status.
From this view, you can actively manage the flow of customers. For example, you can call the next customer when a resource becomes available, mark a customer as a no-show if they do not arrive, or adjust the duration of a service if it takes longer than expected.
Because the system updates in real time, any action you take immediately affects the rest of the queue. This removes the need for manual rescheduling or constant coordination between staff.
ℹ️ Note: If multiple staff members are working at the same time, everyone sees the same live queue, ensuring consistency across the team.
3. Concierge Mode
Concierge Mode allows staff to manage the customer flow directly.
Staff can:
create walk-in tickets;
check in online bookings;
help customers make a booking;
share or show the customer’s ticket number;
let customers scan a QR code from a staff device, where applicable.
This is useful when businesses prefer staff-led service or do not want to install kiosk hardware.
4. How to Add Customers to the Queue
When adding a customer, Smart Serve gives you three options depending on the situation.
If a customer arrives without a booking, you can choose Join the Queue. This creates a ticket for immediate service and places the customer into the live queue.
If a customer prefers not to wait, you can select Make a Booking and schedule them for a later time instead.
If a customer already has an appointment, you can use Check in with Online Booking to confirm their arrival. Once checked in, their ticket becomes active in the queue and follows the same flow as all other customers.
This ensures booked customers and walk-ins are managed in one operational queue view.
5. Check-In for Online Bookings
When a customer books online, they are not immediately treated as waiting in the active queue.
First, the booking can appear as an upcoming ticket in Smart Serve. The customer must then check in when they arrive.
A customer can check in by:
scanning a QR code;
using a kiosk;
entering or providing their booking details;
being checked in by staff.
After check-in, the ticket moves from On Hold to Waiting.
This confirms that the customer is present and ready to be managed in the queue.
6. How to Configure a Queue
Before using Smart Serve in daily operations, you need to define how your queue behaves.
Queue configuration allows you to control how tickets are created and managed. For example, you can define a prefix for ticket numbers, which helps identify different queues or service areas. You can also set how ticket numbering begins, which can be useful for daily resets or internal tracking.
Another important setting is the expected wait time per ticket. This helps the system determine when a ticket should be flagged as overdue, giving staff better visibility into delays.
You can also define a cut-off time for accepting new customers into the queue. This ensures that no new tickets are added beyond your operational capacity.
ℹ️ Note: Although walk-ins and online bookings enter the queue differently, they are handled within the same system, giving you a complete overview of demand.
7. How to Set Up Customer-Facing Displays
Smart Serve is not only for staff, it also improves the customer experience by providing visibility into the queue.
7.1. Mobile Landing Page
The mobile landing page allows customers to track their status directly from their phone. They can see their ticket number, how many people are ahead of them, and their estimated wait time.
This reduces the need for customers to ask staff for updates and helps manage expectations during busy periods.
7.2. Waiting Room Display
The waiting room display is typically shown on a screen in your location. It provides a shared overview of the queue, including which ticket is being called and how long others are expected to wait.
Because it updates automatically, customers always see the latest information without staff needing to intervene.
7.3. Self-Service Kiosk
The self-service kiosk allows customers to interact with the system independently. They can join the queue themselves or check in for an existing booking using a QR code or booking number.
This is especially useful in high-traffic environments, as it reduces queues at the front desk and allows staff to focus on service delivery.
8. Important Tips
ℹ️ Smart Serve continuously adapts to changes throughout the day. This means you do not need to manually reorganise the queue when delays occur.
ℹ️ If a specific staff member is selected manually, Smart Serve will not override that decision, even if another resource becomes available sooner.
ℹ️ Marking a customer as a no-show immediately frees up time, which can then be used for other customers or bookings.
ℹ️ For combined services, each step must be completed before the next one begins. This ensures a consistent and predictable service flow.
9. FAQ
Do bookings automatically appear in the queue?
Upcoming online bookings can appear in Smart Serve as on-hold tickets. They become active waiting tickets only after the customer checks in.
Can I manage walk-ins and bookings together?
Yes. Smart Serve is designed to manage walk-ins and booked customers in one queue view after they have entered the active customer flow.
Are walk-ins and booked customers treated the same?
They are managed in the same queue view after check-in, but order and assignment can still depend on service, resource availability, booking details, and staff actions.
What happens if a customer does not respond when called?
Smart Serve can highlight the ticket after the configured waiting time. Staff can then mark the customer as no-show or keep them waiting.
What happens if a customer says they are on their way?
The ticket can be updated so staff know the customer has responded and is coming.
What happens if a customer leaves the queue?
The ticket is removed from the active customer flow and handled as a no-show or cancelled queue outcome, depending on your setup.
Do customers need to ask staff for updates?
No. Customers can follow relevant updates through the mobile page or waiting room display, if these are enabled.
Can I use Smart Serve without a kiosk?
Yes. You can use Concierge Mode, where staff manage tickets, check-ins, and customer guidance directly.
Can I use Smart Serve on a tablet instead of a kiosk?
Yes. Tablet mode can be used. If no scanner or printer is available, scan and print options are hidden.
How does Smart Serve handle delays?
Smart Serve recalculates affected tickets and updates estimated start times across connected Smart Serve views.
Does Smart Serve affect my calendar?
Yes. Smart Serve works with your TIMIFY calendar and updates planned queue availability so delays and service progress are reflected in availability calculations. It does not replace your calendar.