Card terminal best practices: Reducing wait times during peak hours
For customers, there's nothing worse than a long queue. As a small business owner, you should try to manage your peak times so that customers aren't left waiting. Here's how you can use card terminals and other solutions to keep everything running smoothly.
When queues hold you back
A queue shows that your business is popular, but don't be fooled: it's not a good sign. In fact, it's one of the fastest ways to lose customers. Even in the UK, renowned as the world capital of the orderly queue, people can rapidly lose patience. Studies have shown that 59% of shoppers are not willing to wait in line, and 68% say that long queues are a reason why they don't want to shop in-store.
We live in an era when small brick-and-mortar businesses are struggling against two opponents: online competitors and large companies. It's hard enough to hold your own in the face of these titans, and long queues will make it so much harder. Small business owners are noticing a lot of queues that need to be tackled. Let's take a look at what you can do.
Why queues form — and how card terminals play a part
Of course, queues tend to form during peak hours. For example, if you're running a food truck near an office complex or market stall on a busy weekend, you’ll likely have a sense already of when you might see the highest concentration of customers. It's impossible to stop queues altogether (and you probably wouldn't want to, as that would mean no customers), but you can certainly mitigate waiting times. Here are some common reasons for queues being longer than they should be:
Inefficient technology setups
How efficient is your card terminal use? Do you have devices with smooth, user-friendly interfaces? It's time to evaluate the ways that you take payments. For example, if you're using a terminal that relies on chip and PIN, each transaction involves passing the device to the customer, allowing them time to enter their code. Then, it is returned to you, waits for approval, and finally returns the card. When you've got dozens of customers to serve in a short period of time, that's shockingly inefficient.
Look at the way you've set up your payment experience, too. For example, do you have a single till that all customers are funnelled towards? This will slow things down. Even if you have several staff members taking payments, they may be sharing devices, which can lead to queues.
Handling cash
It's been a long time since cash was king. However, even though more and more people have adopted other payment methods, old habits die hard. About 12% of all payments in the UK are still made with cash, and completely cashless business risks alienating customers.
Even if most of your customers use cards or other contactless systems, you'll still need to be prepared to accept cash. That means having a register or cashbox, and arming your staff with sufficient change before the start of a shift. Otherwise, staff members scrambling to sort out notes and coins can cause delays.
Problems with battery and connections
Finally, there can be other technological issues that slow you down. Devices that are running low on battery work inefficiently, and a poor signal can also cause problems. These can lead to delays and increased queues.
Best practices to speed things up
If queues are a problem for your business, you need to focus on faster payment processing during peak hours. Fortunately, there are lots of easy changes you can make to ensure your staff members are prepared to fight bottlenecks.
Use contactless wherever possible
Yes, there are times when contactless is not available, due to a customer's preferences or a card's security settings. However, to speed things up, you should always try contactless payments as your first choice. Using a contactless card reader is one of the simplest ways to speed up card payments.
Just remember that, although contactless has become the default for many customers, there are still some who prefer cash. Ensure your staff are trained and ready to serve customers who prefer other kinds of payment.
Pre-load totals whenever possible
During peak hours, every second counts. Train your staff members to enter payment information as soon as they can, perhaps while the customer is still getting their phone or card ready. This way, you can speed up each transaction.
Keep your terminals fully charged
For a business owner, charging payment terminals should become second nature, just like charging your phone is. If you have a tendency to forget, set yourself a reminder. You should never enter peak hours with a card reader on a low battery.
Use a second terminal
As your business grows, a single card reader may not be enough. Expecting staff members to share a card reader during peak hours is very inefficient. Not only can only one customer be served at a time, but your staffers will also have to take the time to pass the terminal back and forth between transactions. Buying a second card reader is a simple way to avoid payment bottlenecks.
Smart ways to optimise your setup with SumUp
There are lots of handy ways you can use your SumUp devices to help reduce checkout queues. Here are some things to consider:
Use the right tool for the job
We offer a number of different payment options to suit every kind of business. If you're running a very small operation, Tap to Pay is a handy phone app. You won't need an extra card reader; as long as your phone is charged and has a signal, you're ready to go. That's great for small, mobile businesses, but as things get bigger, you should upgrade to meet your customer flow.
The Air contactless card reader is a small, portable device for accepting payments, a step up from the mobile app. It comes with its own charging stand.
For a growing business, upgrade to the Solo card reader. It comes with a built-in SIM card with unlimited data, so it'll work even when you've got bad Wi-Fi.
For even busier setups, the SumUp Terminal is a great option. It’s a standalone card reader with built-in Wi-Fi, unlimited mobile data, and a built-in receipt printer — no phone pairing required. Plus, it comes with simple POS features like product libraries and tipping, making it ideal for growing businesses that need more than just fast payments. With the Terminal, you can serve more customers quickly and keep things professional without extra hardware or complexity.
Make sure you're using the right tools for your business. Tap to Pay is great for businesses that are just starting out, but a Solo card reader will really help when you need to quickly manage a large number of customers during rush hour.
Use the SumUp App or POS integrations
Here's one of the easiest ways to pre-load payment information before a transaction. By using more of the SumUp ecosystem, you can speed things up. It'll only take you a couple of taps to access the information you need, and it also helps cut down on the potential for human error, which can seriously slow you down.
Integrating your card reader with other parts of the ecosystem also allows you to do more complex things, such as accessing your company's loyalty scheme, more quickly.
Use payment links or QR codes
Why not let customers take control of their own payments? Many businesses are experimenting with QR codes and payment links as queue-busters. Used effectively, you can really cut down on waiting times. For instance, one customer can scan their QR code and pay on their phone while your cashier serves another.
If people aren't sure about paying with QR codes or links, consider introducing a special promotion to get them started.
Just remember two things. First, customers who aren't used to QR payments may need a bit of help the first time they make one. Secondly, not everyone likes these high-tech solutions, so be sure to keep them optional. Attempting a QR payment hard sell on older customers can backfire.
Extra tips for rush hour
Teamwork makes the dream work. Get your staff working as a well-oiled machine: one person can take payment while another prepares and hands over goods. That could mean preparing the drinks in a café, or wrapping or bagging newly-purchased products in a retail outlet.
Use signs effectively. If you have multiple payment options available, highlight these to customers, and ensure signs direct them to the fastest options.
Encourage the use of contactless payments, as they're the fastest way to pay. Consider promotions or deals that you could offer to regular customers as an incentive to use a digital wallet or contactless card. The more people you can get using these systems, the better.
Cut down on queues and keep your customers happy
Keeping queues to a minimum results in happier customers, as well as a better working environment for your staff. Wave goodbye to the stress of a customer bottleneck by using these tips. Check out the different ways to take payments, and discover how your business can beat queues.
