Essential queue management solutions
available across the UK
As the country starts to ease its way out of lockdown, retail stores and other public-facing companies are opening up for business again. This is fantastic news for our clients across the UK as they are able to welcome back their loyal customers. It’s even better news for their customers who, after three months of lockdown, are finally able to spend money on the high street, instead of online.
While this great news all around, easing lockdown does not come without its challenges. Chief among these – at least for the businesses concerned – is maintaining the safety and well-being of both their staff and customers. A key part of this equation is keeping social distancing measures in place when your business reopens.
This is where queue management comes in…
The importance of queue management
Current scientific opinion is that COVID-19 spreads quicker among crowds and in indoor spaces. To limit the risk of infection in shops and other businesses, they are expected to keep the number of customers on their premises to an acceptable level. This method has already been employed by most supermarkets, who have been trading under these rules since lockdown began. Now that other businesses are opening up, these measures need to be in place across the retail and service sectors.
Here at Marpol Security, we offer a range of solutions to help you manage the queues in front of your business in a safe and effective manner. Here are just a few of them:
Queue management guards
Many retail businesses will already have manned security guards patrolling their shop floor. While they share many of the same characteristics, a queue management security guard has a specialised role to play. Their job is to make sure the number of people on your premises remains at a safe level. They will keep a careful eye on the customers coming in and going out, keeping the level of in-store traffic at a safe level.
As well as directing customers into the store, they will be making sure that they adhere to social distancing whilst in the queue. They will also ensure all customers make use of hand sanitiser before they enter. If your store’s policy is for visitors to wear face masks, they will see that this is enforced too.
Finally, while we hope most customers will deal with these queues with patience and good humour, it is possible that tempers might get frayed and a disturbance may break out in the queue. If such an event occurs, our queue management guards have the necessary security training to break things up peacefully.
Automatic occupancy monitoring
The purpose of queue management is to ensure that you don’t have too many people in a confined space on your business premises. Our trained security guards provide the most effective way to do that but some companies prefer a less obtrusive approach. Perhaps their retail property is only small, or they wish to operate a more low-key solution.
Whatever the reason, we can help. We have technology available that automatically counts the number of people coming into and going out of your premises. Sensors above the entrance and exit keep a running tally of how many customers are currently on site. Combined with illuminated signage (red for ‘wait’ and green for ‘enter’) this automate queue management system can handle the flow of customers with great accuracy.
Should people attempt to enter while the red light is engaged, an alarm will sound, alerting one of your retail security guards to the entrance to resolve the issue.
Experienced security professionals
Here at Marpol Security, all our security staff are fully-trained and licensed professionals. They bring years of relevant, hands-on experience to every job. While queue management might be a new development for the retail industry, it has been used extensively at events and exhibitions for years. With our staff in place, the smooth-running of any queue is assured.