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Team MVP created a virtual waiting room as a solution to AQS queuing needs.
Inspiration
Bringing a beloved pet to Hawaii is a stressful process because of Hawaii's strict rules that allow it to remain a rabies-free state. After submitting multiple types of documentation and fees, the last step for an owner is to pick up their pet from the Animal Quarantine Station (AQS) at Honolulu (HNL) airport. Due to rising numbers of imported pets, lack of office modernization, and COVID restrictions, it has become increasingly risky for owners to assemble outside the office, waiting for their pet to be released. We have seen various businesses adapt to changing COVID restrictions around the island and believe we can create a simple, no-cost solution to help AQS reunite pet owners with their pets in a safe and effective manner.
What it does
Our solution creates a virtual waiting room that allows AQS to send an email or text message to Pet Owners (PO) when it is time to come pick up their pet. A PO submits their information after arrival to HNL airport and awaits further instructions from AQS. When an Inspected Pet has been matched to a waiting PO, AQS can click a button and send a message to the PO saying it is time to come into the waiting room and pick up their pet. This process allows PO to notify AQS of their presence and help AQS control the traffic around the office.
How we built it
The webform is created using Google Forms and the data is auto-populated into a Google Sheet. The data from the Google Sheet is pulled into a custom Admin User Interface (UI) that lists PO information for AQS to view. Inside this secured web page, the Admin User is allowed to view the current waiting list, cross off picked up pets, and send canned messages to the owner to pick up the pets. The PO can receive an email or text message, as decided by the Admin User. The Admin page features searching, editing, and deleting of the entries.
Challenges we ran into
We wanted to communicate with owners through text messages, like how a restaurant sends a text message saying your table is ready. Unfortunately, text messaging solutions for businesses cost money. We worked through this by leveraging SMS Gateways used by most cell phone carriers. SMS Gateway addresses allow us to use an email to send a text message to a phone and is, therefore, free for AQS to perform. The downside of using SMS Gateway is that it can be hard to support every cell phone number if the carrier doesn't have a SMS Gateway. We solved this challenge by using Twillio as a third party solution to send SMS. Twilio can send a text message regardless of phone carrier. The details of the pricing will need to be considered for the final product.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We created a low/no-cost solution that allows AQS to easily send a text message or e-mail to a PO and let them know it’s their turn to pick up their pet. The solution is standalone and can easily be added to AQS current workflow. It also has a lot of flexibility to add new features as needed.
What we learned
We realized that a more complex or expensive solution would provide many value-added features. However, we realized that they would only be appreciated by the PO once or twice in their lifetime. Since the PO are not expected to be frequent "repeat customers," we decided that a simple, cheap solution was sufficient and just as valuable.
What's next for Team MVP's AQS Virtual Waiting Room
We have features planned for subsequent iterations of the solution that will allow additional communications, such as expected wait times, directions to AQS, more detailed queue information, and increased accessibility for PO who do not have US-based smartphones.
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