We encounter queues every day. At the coffee shop in the morning, bus stops in the afternoon and snaking out from the bathroom at concerts. They were a critical part of doing just about anything during the pandemic.
So why do so many of us seemingly lose the ability to function rationally when asked to form an orderly line? Aren’t queues by design intended to instil order and process to unruly situations?
In his article “The Psychology of Waiting in Lines”, Harvard Business School professor David Maister outlines that the cause and solutions to many queue quibbles lie in the social science of the situation.
Offensive outsteps often occur when behaviour is seen as violating the socially accepted norms of the environment. The first-in first-served aspect of queues reinforces the belief that fairness is paramount, and the notion you might miss out at the hand of someone who didn’t follow the proper process will likely raise ire. Such worries will be heightened if there is a limited supply of things involved.
Cultural factors may also influence our attitude to waiting. In 2009 Professor Dick Larson of Massachusetts Institute of Technology told NPR that the behaviour of people in a queue is “like a microcosm of the broader society from which these people are brought”.
Western cultures centre countdowns around rituals that build anticipation such as Christmas advent calendars. Anticipation can increase joy, but it can also heighten impatience and anxiousness, and time seems to move slowly when you feel stressed.
In contrast, the spiritual elements of waiting are often appreciated in Eastern cultures. The Buddhist tradition has a concept of “mindful anticipation” which focuses on being present and fully engaged in the process of waiting, rather than merely focusing on the end goal.
Skipping the queue, or behaving in an un-zen manner, may prompt eye-rolls, or comments muttered under the breath. But they can also lead to more serious disgruntlement. In 2008 a man in Masterton was charged with assault, after a petrol station brawl sparked by queue jumping.
Logically having a distraction can make a wait less onerous. That might be something you bring along yourself, like a book, your knitting, or music (headphones only please, imposing your favourite tunes on a crowd is a straight to jail without passing go offense).
Sometimes though, the filler activity is built into the experience – like those endless snaking queues you traverse at the airport.
Larson however recommends engaging with those around you, human interaction builds rapport and if you feel bonded to the people around you, you’ll be less likely to take offense at their individual quirks.
If you’re in charge of queue management – communication is the key to calm. Unanticipated and unexplained waits are less tolerable, and risk breeding miscommunication. If you’ve been placed on hold on the phone, you’ll probably agree that generic hold messages are less palatable than those that provide estimated waiting time.
This is a tactic employed at Disney theme parks, where waiting times are displayed to those in line as way of signalling progress. When a wait time comes in under the estimated window, queuers feel a sense of achievement. Suddenly they’ve got one over the system.
Large queues are forecast when Ikea opens its first Aotearoa store on Thursday. The highly anticipated launch combines two genres of waiting that could lead to fraught queuing experiences.
Anticipatory waiting (waiting for something that is hoped for, heightened here by a seven-year wait for the store to open) combines with scarcity-based waiting – the desire to be amongst the first through the doors on opening day to nab the best deals first.
Expecting “high visitor numbers” during their opening period, Ikea are implementing a number of queue control measures aimed at crowd safety and shopper experience.
Store doors open for the first time at 11am tomorrow , but customers will only be permitted to enter the car park and queue from 8:30am onwards. Anyone who arrives earlier than this will be asked to leave and come back.
“We can’t allow early queueing, parking or camping overnight at or around Ikea, or on Sylvia Park Shopping Centre premises,” said the retailer.
From 8.30am there will be two places to queue for store entry: one on the concrete platform leading from the Sylvia Park shopping centre and another alongside the yellow entrance signage outside the Ikea car park.
Customers are advised to bring their own water bottles, refreshments, and any sun or rain protection to make sure they have a comfortable time in line.
For those turned off by the prospect of crowds the Swedish big box retailer suggests shopping online, or by phone. Both options are available from opening day.