Inspiration

The solution was inspired by the take a number system that you see at delis and at the butchers, where you take a slip of paper with a number on it and you wait for your number to be called to be serviced.

What it does

Allows a customer to line up by leaving their phone number. The store can text the next person in line to let the customer know the store is ready for them.

How I built it

I used django for managing stores and postgres for simulating a line. I used the twilio API to send customers texts. I used the pubnub API to display the phone numbers on the line manager portal. I used rq-scheduler (redis) to count down the five minutes the customer has to show up. I used the Google maps distance matrix API to see if the customer is within 100 meters of the store. If they're not, they can't line up.

Challenges I ran into

Learning new technologies (task queues, scheduler, publish subscribe) in 2 days. I couldn't think of a solution to prevent geolocation spoofing.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

Learning new technologies (task queues, scheduler, publish subscribe) in 2 days.

What I learned

task queues, scheduler, publish subscribe

What's next for take a number

Generate random image as a "key" for the customer to flash to the line manager. This would allow the line manager to keep a safe distance from customers. Unique registration link for stores for access to this app. Allow stores to open and close access to their line based on business hours.

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