Managing the day

The Waitlist

The Waitlist is where you find a person and do something about them. This page covers every list, layout and action on it, for owners and managers, and what desk staff see.

What the Waitlist is for#

The Live Board tells you where the pressure is. The Waitlist answers a different question: who is here now, and what do I do about them? It shows everyone in your lines in the order they will be called, the bookings still to come, and everyone who has left today. Open any person to see their whole visit and act on it.

Like the board, it updates itself within seconds. New arrivals fade in and people who leave fade out, so the list itself shows you what changed.

Owners and managers can do everything on this page. Desk staff can look but change nothing, unless they have been given an ability; see What desk staff see.

Ways to get there:

• Press Waitlist in the sidebar. The number beside it is how many are waiting.
• Press a line on the Live Board to open the Waitlist on that line alone.
• Use the search at the top of the staff app (Ctrl K, or ⌘ K on a Mac) and choose to look for a name or token on the Waitlist.

Choose which list to see#

Three tabs at the top switch the list. Each shows a count.

Each person shows their token (such as CON-20261030-014), their name if one was taken, how long they have been waiting, and short notes: "Next in line" or "No. 3 in line", their phone number, what they came for, and any note the desk wrote.

Small tags explain anything unusual:

• Priority: marked to go ahead of others in the line.
• With Counter 2 or With another desk: being served in another line right now. Their place here is kept until that visit ends.
• Running late, with the time they expect to arrive.
• Coming back: sent elsewhere and due back to the desk that sent them. A clinic sees Review.
• For bookings: Upcoming, Due, Late, Missed or Arrived.
• Closed day or Short-staffed: a booking kept on a day you closed, or a day too few people are in, that still needs handling.

Choose lines and a layout#

On a computer or tablet, two controls sit beside the tabs: the line picker and the layout switch. Your choice is remembered on this device.

To show only some lines:

1. Press the line picker. It says, for example, All 9 lines.
2. Tick the lines you want. Use Find a line to search a long list, Select all or Clear to start over.
3. Press Done. The picker now says, for example, "3 of 9 lines".

Then choose how to lay them out:

• Lanes: each line is a column of cards, side by side, like a board of columns. This is the starting layout on a wide screen.
• List: each line is a table of rows, one above the other, with the wait to join for each line. This is the starting layout on a smaller screen.

Each line's header shows its name, how many are waiting, a status tag in the same words as the Live Board (Clear, Moving, Backing up, Nobody serving, Paused), and a bar for how full it is. A very long line shows its first people and a Show … more button.

On a phone you see one line at a time. Use Choose a line at the top to switch, or swipe sideways to step to the next or previous line.

Find a person#

1. Click in the search box, or press / anywhere on the page.
2. Type any of these:
   • the token, whole or just its number ("CON-20261030-014", or "14");
   • part of their name;
   • four or more digits of the phone number the desk recorded (owners and managers only);
   • your own number for them, exactly as written on their visit: the Reference, which a clinic calls Hospital ID.
3. The list narrows as you type. Press a person's token to open them.

Search looks in the tab you are on. If nobody matches, the page says so; check the counts on the other tabs, which tell you whether the person is in another list. In Booked, search looks across the next seven days, and each result shows its day.

Open a person and see their whole visit#

1. Press a person's token, or anywhere on their card or row that is not a button.
2. Their visit opens: on a wide screen beside the lanes, otherwise as a panel over the page. Press Esc or the close button to shut it.

The visit panel, headed with their token, holds everything about them:

• Facts: Phone, Wants (what they came for), Waited, Booking (day and time), Desk, Late, Held (why Call next is keeping their place), Left, and Why they left.
• Note: the desk's note on this visit (see below).
• Running late: for a caller who says they will be late.
• The actions that fit them right now, as buttons.
• Call to a desk and Move to another line, laid out as lists you can press directly.
• Whole visit: every step of their visit across your business, as their own phone shows it, with each step marked Done, Now, Waiting, Goes first, Later, Goes back (a clinic sees Review) or Ended. Under each step: its token, desk, who served them, the times, and who sent them on. Above the steps, the name, phone and reference the desk wrote down.
• Timeline: what happened, in plain sentences with who did it: "Joined for Haircut", "Moved in the line by Priya", "Called by Ravi", "Served by Ravi".

Act on someone who is waiting#

Every person has their most common action as a button, and the rest under the ⋮ menu. The same actions are buttons in their visit panel. For someone waiting, they are:

After most changes a message appears at the foot of the screen, such as "014 (CON-20261030-014) removed from the line", with Undo for 10 seconds. That covers removing, no-shows, putting back, checking in, cancelling, moving, priority and notes.

Reorder by dragging#

On a computer or tablet, in Waiting now, you can drag people instead of using the menu:

1. In Lanes, drag a card up or down within its lane to change the order. In List, drag a row by its handle.
2. Drop it on another lane (or another line's table) to move them to that line. A line that cannot take them is not highlighted as you drag over it.
3. Every move can be undone for 10 seconds.

Use the keyboard#

With a person's visit open, these keys act on them:

• F: move them to the front.
• C: jump to the desks you can call them to.
• S: jump to the lines you can move them to.
• /: find a person (works with nothing open, too).

C and S only move the focus to the choices; you still pick the desk or line yourself. The keys do nothing while you are typing.

Call someone to a specific desk#

Use this to send a particular person to a particular desk now, for example a regular who wants their usual stylist.

1. On the person, open ⋮ and choose Call to a desk (or open their visit, or press C).
2. Under "Call them to which desk?", desks that can take the call right now are listed first. Desks that cannot are greyed, with the reason:
   • Not free right now: off shift, on a break, or with someone.
   • Doesn't take from this line.
   • Takes from a line you can't see: a manager can call only to desks whose every line is theirs. An owner can call to any desk.
   Desks that do not take from this line at all are folded under "2 other desks don't take from this line"; press Show to see them.
3. Press the desk. The message "014 (CON-20261030-014) called to Counter 2" confirms it, and the person is called just as if that desk had pressed Call next.

Move someone to another line#

1. On the person, open ⋮ and choose Move to another line (or press S with their visit open).
2. Under "To the end of which line?", press the line. A paused line and a bookings-only line are greyed, with the reason, because neither takes a walk-in.
3. They join the end of that line. The message "Moved 014 (CON-20261030-014) to Lab" has Undo for 10 seconds.

Handle someone who has been called#

Someone called to a desk shows at the top of their line with a Called tag and the desk's name. Usually the desk handles them. If you need to step in:

• Mark no-show: they did not come. They move to Served today as a no-show.
• Put back in line: return them to the line, for example if they were called by mistake.
• Remove from line: take them out altogether.

Someone already being served shows a Serving tag. You can add a note or open their details, but the desk serving them completes the visit.

Put someone back in line#

1. Open the Served today tab and find them.
2. Press Put back in line.
3. They return to the line. The message "014 (CON-20261030-014) put back in line" has Undo for 10 seconds.

This is offered for someone who was removed, gave up their place, or was a no-show. It is not offered when the visit ended for another reason, such as the day closing; add them again as a new visit instead.

Write a note on a visit#

1. On the person, open ⋮ and choose Note.
2. Type the note, for example "Wheelchair, brought the reports". It can be up to 140 characters.
3. Press Save note. To remove it, press Clear.

The note shows on their row and to the desk that serves them. A note can be added at any point until the visit has been served.

Record that a caller is running late#

1. Open the person's visit.
2. Under Running late, press 5 min, 10 min or 15 min.

Nothing moves: they keep their place, or their booked time. The desk sees when they are expected, and Call next passes over them until then.

Pause or resume a line#

Pausing a line stops new people joining it. Everyone already in it stays and is still served.

1. Find the line's header (its lane, or its table in List).
2. Press the ⋮ in the header and choose Pause line.
3. The message "Line paused — nobody new will join" confirms it. The line's status says Paused.
4. To open it again, choose Resume line from the same menu. The message says "Line is taking customers".

Add a walk-in or book a caller#

Add visit is for someone at the desk or on the phone, now or at a time. The button is in the header of every staff screen; on a phone it floats at the bottom.

To add someone who is here now:

1. Press Add visit.
2. Type their Name and Phone if they want to give them. Both are optional for a walk-in.
3. If you entered a phone number, choose who The number belongs to: The customer, A relative or Someone else. A consent box appears with a sentence to read out to them first; tick it only if they agree to receive updates about this visit on that number.
4. Optionally fill in your own number for them in Reference (a clinic sees Hospital ID). You can search the Waitlist by it later.
5. Under what they came for, choose from your menu of services. Anything not on the menu is under Other lines, which puts them straight into a line. Each choice says "Now · joins the line".
6. If a short question appears (one your processes need to decide where they go next), choose an answer, or leave it as Not asked.
7. Press the button at the foot, which says exactly what will happen, for example Add or Add 2.

What you see afterwards, at the top of the sheet:

• Each token made, with its line and place ("3 in line").
• A QR code to show them: "Ask: do you have your phone with you? Scan to follow the token — no sign-in." Press Print slip for a paper slip with the code.
• "Next person?" with Undo, which takes back everything that press made. The sheet stays open for the next person; press Done when you have finished.

Book a caller for a time#

1. In the Add visit sheet, choose what they want.
2. Press Pick a time beside it, choose the Day (today or up to six days ahead), then a time. Full times are marked full. Press Come now instead to switch back.
3. Type their Name; a booking needs one.
4. Press the button, which now reads, for example, Book 10:30 am.

Only lines that take bookings, and are not paused, offer a time. If someone takes the time while you are choosing, the sheet says it "just filled — pick another".

Several services in one press#

You can tick services from more than one line for the same person. They get one token per line, all made together or none at all, and the button says how many, such as Add 2 or Add + book 10:30 am.

Urgent and above everyone#

• Urgent: "Goes to the front of each line they join. Everybody already waiting stays where they are." The same as marking priority.
• Above everyone (a clinic: Emergency): first in every line they join, ahead of anybody marked urgent, and the desk is told. Shown only to owners, managers and staff given that ability.

Manage bookings#

Open the Booked tab and pick a day ("Today · Fri 23 Oct", or any day up to six days ahead). Days you are closed are marked. Each booking shows its time and a cue: Upcoming, Due, Late, Missed or Arrived.

Check in someone who has arrived#

Owners and managers check in from here, and so do staff with the Front desk ability, on the lines they handle.

1. Find their booking in Booked, today.
2. Press Check in. They join the line. The message "014 (CON-20261030-014) checked in" has Undo for 10 seconds.

If they missed their time, the button reads Check in late and they join the end of the line instead. Check in is offered only on the booking's own day.

Move a booking to another time#

1. On the booking, open ⋮ and choose Reschedule.
2. Choose a day and a time in the sheet that opens.
3. Press Move to …, which names the new time, or Cancel to leave it as it was.

Other booking actions#

• Mark no-show: offered once a booking is late or missed, not before.
• Cancel booking: cancels it, with Undo for 10 seconds.
• Mark priority, Note and Details and timeline, as for anyone waiting.

If a day has nothing booked, the page says so and offers Add visit, ready to book a caller on that day.

What desk staff see#

Staff open the Waitlist from My day on their Workboard, with Open the Waitlist; someone with the Front desk or Run desks ability and no desk of their own has an Open the Waitlist button straight on the Workboard. It says "Your lines, to look at. A manager can change them." (with an ability: "The lines you handle. Check people in, move them, or call them to a desk you run.") and Back to your desk returns them to the Workboard.

• They see the same three tabs and search, for their own desk's lines only. With the Front desk or Run desks ability, for the lines they handle: the lines ticked for them on Team and their desk's, or every line when none are ticked.
• They do not see phone numbers, cannot search by phone, and do not see people a colleague has called or is serving on a shared line. Their own customer is marked With you.
• There is no Add visit, no Pause and no visit panel.
• Without an ability there are no actions at all. An ability adds exactly its own:

Staff with the Front desk ability add visits and book callers a time from their Workboard rather than here; see Serving at a desk: the Workboard.

When something goes wrong#

• "Your waitlist didn't load." Check your connection and press the button to try again.
• "No lines chosen": the line picker has nothing ticked. Open it and choose one or more lines.
• "Over … waiting: search to find somebody." A very large list is shown in part; use search to reach a particular person.
• "No free desk takes from their line" after pressing C: no desk on shift can take that person right now. Start a shift on a desk for that line, or add the line to a desk.
• A message says an action did not go through. Someone else changed the same person a moment earlier. The list has already updated; check it and try again if needed.