The joke that stuck
When we moved into the old deli in Gràcia, the ticket machine was still screwed to the wall. We left it there for fun and gave the first client of the week ticket 001. They laughed, then asked when 002 would be called. That question turned into our whole way of working.
One number, one order
Every project gets a ticket number the day we agree on the brief. The number goes on the quote, the invoice, the file names and the board on our wall. Nobody has to ask which version of which project we mean.
What clients get
A start date they can plan around, a price that does not move, and a board link where they can see their order go from the queue to the bench to served. Most of our status emails disappeared the week we put the board online.
What we get
Two orders on the bench at a time, never five. Saying "your number is next" turns out to be much easier than saying "we are a bit busy right now".