FooodPosWiki

The queue

Guests waiting for a table. Print the queue QR, see who waits and for how long, Call a group, Assign table (a pre-order goes on the bill and to the kitchen), Remove a group, or + Add one by hand. Needs the internet. On the Windows and the Android POS.

Who uses it:CashierWaiterManagerWhere:Windows POSAndroid POSQR ordering
On this page

When the restaurant is full, guests wait in the queue. You hand them the queue QR: they scan it, type their name, phone and number of guests, and get a queue number, Q012. While they wait they can see the menu and send a pre-order, which is kept until they get a table.

On the POS, the Queue button under the tables shows how many groups wait. When a table frees up, open the queue, tap the next group and give them a table: they are seated, their pre-order becomes the table's bill and prints in the kitchen, and their phone becomes that table's QR ordering page.

Before you start

  • The queue needs the internet. It lives in the cloud, like the QR orders: nothing of it is kept on the POS. With no line, the window says so and keeps showing the list it last read.
  • Bookings and queue must be part of your plan. Without it, the Queue button is not shown, unless groups are still waiting (see What if…).
  • The outlet needs a QR profile. The queue QR is a QR ordering code of the outlet. See QR Ordering: a profile's settings.
  • Which POS has it. A Main, Sub or Waiter POS that has a table plan, for a person allowed to see QR orders. Only a person allowed to act on QR orders sees + Add, Assign table, Call and Remove.
  • Where Print QR prints. On the QR printer chosen in Settings, Hardware, Printer, or the receipt printer. See The QR printer and the master slip printer.

Open the queue

  1. On the table screen, press 👥 Queue in the bar under the tables, just after QR. Its red badge says how many groups wait.
  2. The Queue window opens over the tables, with the groups waiting, oldest first.

The window reads the list when it opens, every ten seconds while it is open, and after everything you do in it.

The queue window, part by part

This is the Windows POS. The Android POS is below.

The queue window (Windows): one row per group, oldest first.
  1. Queue, and 3 waiting under it: how many groups are in the queue now, called ones included.
  2. Print QR: prints the queue QR for guests to scan. See Print the queue QR.
  3. + Add: puts a group in the queue by hand, for a guest with no phone. See Add a group by hand.
  4. ×: closes the window. Esc does the same on a keyboard.
  5. A group: tap the row to open it. See Open a group.
  6. The queue number, large: Q012. Numbers start at Q001 each business day, per outlet.
  7. Who and how long: the phone (when there is one), the number of guests, and how many minutes they have waited.
  8. Pre-order: 5 items, in green: the group sent a pre-order from their phone. It is kept: no kitchen and no bill has it yet.
  9. Called, in amber: the group was called. After a minute it says Called 3 min ago. The row is ringed in amber too.

When nobody waits, the window says Nobody is waiting. Print the QR for guests to join, or add a group here.

The queue QR is one code for the whole outlet, the same for everybody and the same every day. Print it as often as you like: printing it again replaces nothing.

  1. Open the queue, and press Print QR. It says Working… while it prints.
  2. The slip prints on the QR printer, and the window says The queue QR has printed.
  3. Hand the slip to the guests, or stand it at the door.
The queue QR slip, as printed (in English, as every paper of the POS).

When the QR printer has a printer of its own, two things can go wrong, and the POS asks once:

  • The printer chosen for QR slips is no longer set up on this POS: EPSON QR is not set up on this POS any more. Print on the receipt printer?
  • It is set up but did not print: EPSON QR did not print:, why, then Print the queue QR on the receipt printer?

Press Yes to print this one slip on the receipt printer, or No to print nothing. (EPSON QR stands for your printer's own name.)

What the guest does

  1. Scans the QR, and types their name, phone number and number of guests.
  2. Gets their number, Q012, with how many groups are before them.
  3. Looks at the menu and, if they like, sends a pre-order. Their phone says it is kept until they get a table.
  4. When you press Call, their phone says their table is ready and asks them to come to the counter.
  5. When you give them a table, their phone becomes that table's QR ordering page.

See Join the queue from your phone.

Open a group

Tap a group's row. The window shows the group, its pre-order, and what you can do with it.

A group, opened (Windows): its pre-order, then Assign table, Call and Remove.
  1. The group: its number, name, phone, guests and how long it has waited. Called shows here too once it is called.
  2. The pre-order: how many items, the total the guest's page showed (after ~, a guide only: the bill is priced when it goes on the table), and each dish with what the guest chose under it. With none: No pre-order yet.
  3. Assign table, in green: choose the table to seat this group at. See Give a group a table.
  4. Call: tells the group their table is ready, on their phone. See Call a group.
  5. Remove: takes the group out of the queue. See Remove a group.
  6. While an action is on its way, Call says Working… and every button waits.
  7. Back: back to the list. Esc does the same.

Call a group

  1. Open the group, and press Call.
  2. The group's phone says their table is ready, please come to the counter.
  3. The group shows Called in amber, and after a minute Called 3 min ago.
  4. When they come to the counter, give them a table (below).

Press Call again if they do not come: it stamps the time again. The POS sends no text message: the guest's QR page says it, and you can call the phone number on the row.

Give a group a table

  1. Open the group, and press Assign table.
  2. The window says Pick a table for Q012, with the outlet's tables, floor by floor.
  3. Tap a free table. Nothing more is asked.
  4. The window closes, and the POS says Q012 seated at T5.
Pick a table: a table with a bill is dim and cannot be picked.
  1. Pick a table for Q012: the group you are seating.
  2. The floor's name, over its tables, when the outlet has more than one floor or the floor has a name.
  3. A free table: its code and seats, or free when it has no number of seats. Tap it to seat the group there.
  4. A table with a bill, drawn dim: This table has a bill. It cannot be picked.
  5. reserved: the table is held for a booking. It can still be picked.

What happens next depends on the pre-order:

  • The group had a pre-order. It becomes the table's bill at once, and its kitchen tickets print, as an accepted QR order does. The table screen shows the table with its bill. If a dish could not go on the bill (it is sold out, for example), the group is still seated, and the cloud's sentence follows the words, such as "Nasi Lemak" is sold out. The pre-order is waiting in the QR orders of T5. Accept or reject it there: see Accept or reject QR orders.
  • The group had no pre-order. A new bill opens on that table, as a tap on a free table opens one, with the group's number of guests already filled in. You are left on the sales screen, ready to take their order, with Q012 seated at T5 on it.

The guest's phone becomes that table's QR ordering page: they can order more, call the waiter or ask for the bill from it.

Remove a group

  1. Open the group, and press Remove.
  2. The POS asks once: Remove Q012, Tan Mei Ling, from the queue?
  3. Press Remove. The group leaves the queue, and its kept pre-order is thrown away. Or press No to keep it.
Remove asks once: a group taken out by mistake has lost its place.
  1. No: keeps the group in the queue.
  2. Remove: takes the group out. It cannot be put back: a guest who joins again gets a new number at the back.

A guest can also leave the queue from their own phone. Either way the group goes from the list at the next read.

Add a group by hand

For a guest with no phone, or who would rather not scan.

  1. Open the queue, and press + Add.
  2. The window says Add a group to the queue.
  3. Type the group's Name. It is needed.
  4. Type the Phone (optional), if they give one.
  5. Key the Number of guests on the keypad.
  6. Press OK.
  7. Back on the list, the window says the new number and the name, Q014 for Siti Aminah. Tell the guest their number.
Add a group by hand (Windows): the name and the number of guests are needed.
  1. Name: the group's name, as you will call it. Needed.
  2. Phone (optional): a phone number, to call them when their table is ready.
  3. Number of guests: keyed on the keypad, whole numbers only.
  4. The point is greyed out: guests are counted in whole numbers. ⌫ rubs out the last figure.
  5. OK: puts the group in the queue. It says Working… while it is sent.
  6. Back: back to the list, adding nobody.

On Android: the queue window

The Android POS has the same pages in one window, with these differences:

  • Back is an arrow before the title on every page but the list; there is no Back button at the foot. The tablet's own Back, and a tap outside the window, go back one page too, and close the window from the list.
  • The list's 3 waiting stands beside the title. On a phone held upright, Print QR and + Add take a row of their own under it.
  • Called is a green label, not amber.
  • An opened group has its number as the window's title. Assign table is a wide button on its own, with Call and Remove side by side under it. The pre-order shows its dishes, with no total.
  • After Call, the window goes back to the list, where the group shows Called.
  • Remove asks with Cancel and Remove.
  • In the table picker, a press on a dim table says This table has a bill.
  • Add a group has Cancel and + Add under the boxes, and the keypad beside them (under them on a phone held upright).
An opened group on Android: Assign table on its own, Call and Remove under it.
  1. ‹ Q012: the arrow goes back to the list; the title is the group's number.
  2. Assign table: the tables, to seat the group at.
  3. Call: back to the list, where the group shows Called.
  4. Remove: asks first, with Cancel and Remove.

A POS that works through the Main POS

On a Sub or Waiter POS whose Main POS is set to On your own network only, the queue is read and every button works through the Main POS, Assign table included: the Main POS checks its own tables first, prints the kitchen tickets and holds the bill. It is the Main POS that needs the internet then. See Sub and waiter POS through the Main POS.

What if…