Ep. 78 - Shannon Vander Muelen: Students Don’t Hate Waiting They Hate Uncertainty

Jeff Dillon sits down with Shannon Vander Meulen, Co-Founder and CMO of WaitWell, a tech platform transforming how students access campus services—from advising to financial aid.

A former public service office manager turned tech founder, Shannon brings a rare blend of frontline operational experience and educator empathy to the problem of waiting. She shares how her decade running a busy registry office revealed that what people truly want isn’t popcorn or music—it’s competence, clarity, and their time back. Shannon unpacks how WaitWell eliminates physical lines, empowers staff with AI-driven insights, and gives students the digital-first experience they now expect. From onboarding without tech fatigue to launching their new AI agent “Waillo,” this conversation is a useful guide to building solutions that solve real problems—not just deploying tech for tech’s sake.

Whether you’re in student affairs, IT, or service operations, you’ll walk away with actionable ideas for making service interactions faster, fairer, and more human.

Key Takeaways

1. Waiting Is a Universal Pain Point – Long lines aren’t just inefficient—they create stress for both visitors and staff. Modern students expect the same digital convenience (DoorDash, Uber) when accessing campus services.
2. Competence Trumps Friendliness – While a welcoming environment matters, what people truly want is to be served by someone with the right training to solve their problem—quickly and correctly.
3. Transparency Reduces Frustration – Simply knowing how long a wait will be—whether 15 minutes or 2 hours—dramatically improves the service experience and reduces anxiety.
4. Educator Mindset Informs Product Design – Shannon’s teaching background taught her to “scaffold” complex processes into smaller steps—a skill that directly translates to building intuitive, user-centered technology.
5. AI Should Solve Real Problems, Not Chase Hype – WaitWell’s AI agent “Waillo” was born from customer feedback. It helps staff ask natural-language questions like, “When’s the best day to close for training without impacting wait times?”
6. Onboarding Is the Secret Sauce – Successful tech adoption hinges on dedicated setup: sandbox environments, workflow mapping, and a single point of contact (account manager) to ensure smooth implementation.
7. Tech Fatigue Is Real – Staff are often juggling dozens of tools. The best new solutions either integrate seamlessly or replace existing systems—not add to the clutter.
8. Data Reveals Hidden Patterns – Once organizations track wait times and service demand, they often discover unexpected peaks and valleys—enabling smarter staffing and resource allocation.
9. Keep the Human in the Loop – While AI and chatbots can handle routine inquiries, many institutions still value in-person connection. The key is balancing digital efficiency with human touchpoints where they matter most.
10. Build a Culture That Listens – WaitWell’s product innovations are driven by weekly meetings between support and development teams, ensuring engineers hear directly from users—keeping the company focused on solving real problems.

 

Find Emily Vander Meulen:

LinkedIn                              

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonvandermeulen/

WaitWell

https://waitwellsoftware.com/

 

And find EdTech Connect here:

Web: https://edtechconnect.com/