Oh those long, snaking, terror-inducing lines.

Lines are a double-edged sword for most Food truckers. On one hand, lines mean business – people like your food (hip hip hoorah)!

On the other hand, lines also mean your customers will be waiting around. If the line is really long, they may be waiting quite some time. And in case you haven’t noticed, today’s millennials and plugged-in people do NOT take well to waiting around!

Long lines can easily turn an excited customer away. They can turn potential fans into headaches. You don’t want a crowd of hangry (hungry + angry) people on your hands.

To some degree, making those lines vanish comes with practice. New food trucks need a while to get their truck legs, and optimal efficiency may take some time, regardless of skill level.

However, there are also things you can do to cut down on lines, as well as how to make the most of long lines (when they do happen and are unavoidable). We’ll be detailing all the best line-busting tips for food trucks right here in this post!

1. Be a Well-Oiled, Sick Food Machine

To cut down on those long wait times, make sure your staff is well trained and seasoned (just like your food) before they hit the truck . It’s fine to have foodie newbies, but make sure you do tons of practice before going on to the real thing.

• Systemize, streamline, and practice everything, from taking orders, using the POS system, cooking the food, and getting it to the customer.

• Make sure you do a soft open (maybe even several) where you invite friends, family, and maybe a few other lucky foodies to test out your system.

• Have your staff get to know one another. Studies have shown that everyone from pilots to doctors perform much better when they get to know the individuals they are working with (if you need a great read, check out The Checklist Manifesto which explains this phenomenon, along with other checklist tasks that dramatically reduced death rates in hospitals). In order to create a team that works well together and flows, make sure that your employees know each other’s names and have had some time to get acquainted and bond.

2. Get Social With The Wait

In some cases, lines will be unavoidable. The lunch time rush can be too big a bear to put down, or with food truck festivals (especially in great weather), long lines are often a part of the deal.

Many people won’t mind waiting in line if you give them something to do or something to distract them.

• Broadcast Your Social Stuff. While you have people waiting around, use this prime opportunity to promote your food truck’s social media networks! Get folks to follow you on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. Make sure you explain the value of the follow to your waiters (get updated on our schedule, find out about new dishes, get news about special deals, etc).

• Ask For User-Submitted Photos. Many customers love to snap shots anywhere they go – give them a bit of extra incentive by asking for it! Have them tag your truck so that all your followers can see the pics too. User generated content is incredible valuable, and you can repurpose some of those photos later to promote your truck, use in a blog post, or even as testimonials to show how much your eaters adore you.

• Ask a Question. Put up a fun question on a whiteboard outside your truck and ask users to submit their answers on Twitter. It could be an opinion question, a trivia piece, or something else fun!

• Make it a Contest. People love contests! You could let users know that if they tweet something with the hashtag #TuesdayTacoTime and tag your food truck, they’ll be entered to win a $5 coupon! Get creative and see how many contest submissions you can get!

3. Pump Up The Jams

Another way to keep your customers happy while they wait is to play some sweet jams! Get a basic speaker system set up and play music to entertain your waiters.

Note: Some cities have strict rules against food trucks playing music outdoors, so make sure you know your local rules before blasting Queen on the city streets.

4. Games Are Good

People love games, and having some fun activities people can play will make the wait go that much faster.

Consider setting up cornhole, ladderball, or other outdoor games. Not only will it keep customers sticking around and build brand personality, but it also gives people in line something to watch.

If you have external screens on your truck, you can flip through trivia questions and answers while people wait. There are even tools like Buzztime that let eaters (or in this case, line-waiters), engage in games on their smartphone that connect with your external televisions screens.

5. Get a Mobile POS System

Some point-of-sale systems allow you to use a tablet or iPhone and take orders from outside the truck. This can dramatically reduce wait time and can help your food truck be more efficient, churning out your delicious food for the masses.

Do you have any other line-busting tips for food trucks? Share your best line-breaking ideas in the comments!

The post Food Truck Line Busting: Don’t Let Long Lines Scare Away Customers! appeared first on Boston Food Truck Blog: Reviews & Ratings.