Coaster pagers cost hundreds up front, die mid-shift, walk out the door and only work within range of the base station. A QR-code SMS pager uses the guest's own phone — unlimited range, nothing to buy, charge or sanitize. Here's the honest comparison.
Upfront hardware, dead batteries, lost pucks, and a range that ends at the parking lot.
Guests scan, join, and step away. Their phone is the pager — no hardware to manage.
One tap sends an SMS that reaches them anywhere, not just within 100 metres of a base.
A set of restaurant coaster pagers runs several hundred to a few thousand dollars, plus replacements for the ones that get lost, dropped in drinks or walk out the door. The base station, chargers and spare batteries add more.
A QR-code waitlist costs nothing to start — the guest's phone is the device. You only pay standard per-text SMS rates through your own provider, and only when you actually page someone.
Physical pagers are radio devices with a fixed range. Step next door for a coffee or wait in your car down the street and the buzzer goes silent — so guests hover by the door instead of relaxing.
An SMS reaches the guest wherever they are. They can run an errand, sit in their car, or browse the shop next door and still get paged the second their table is ready.
Buzzers are handed person to person all day. A QR pager touches nothing — the guest uses their own phone, sees a live 'you're 3rd in line' screen, and gets a clear text when it's their turn.
You also get data a buzzer can never give you: how many joined, average wait, no-show rate and busiest hours — so you can staff and seat smarter.
Almost always. There's no hardware to buy, charge, replace or insure — the guest's phone is the pager. You only pay standard SMS rates through your own provider, and only when you text someone.
Yes. Unlike radio buzzers that only work near the base station, an SMS reaches the guest anywhere they have phone signal — across the street, in their car or next door.
Staff add them as a walk-in from the dashboard and can still text any number you enter, or note them for a verbal call — no one gets left out.
There's nothing to share. Each guest uses their own phone, so there's no plastic puck passing between dozens of hands a day.
Yes — you get joined counts, average wait, no-show rate and busiest hours per location, which physical buzzers can't provide.
Start a free QR-code waitlist today. Add SMS when you're ready to page guests.