Queue area - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Queue areas are places in which people queue (first-come, first-served

First-come, first-served

First-come, first-served – sometimes first-in, first-served and first-come, first choice – is a service policy whereby the requests of customers or clients are attended to in the order that they arrived, without other biases or preferences. The policy can be employed when processing sales orders,...

) for goods or services. Examples include checking out groceries or other goods that have been collected in a self service shop, in a shop without self service, at an ATM, at a ticket desk, a city bus, or in a taxi stand

Taxi stand

A taxicab stand is a queue area on a street or on private property where taxicabs line up to wait for passengers.-How stands work:...

.

Queueing is a phenomenon in a number of fields, and has been extensively analysed in the study of queueing theory

Queueing theory

Queueing theory is the mathematical study of waiting lines, or queues. The theory enables mathematical analysis of several related processes, including arriving at the queue, waiting in the queue , and being served at the front of the queue...

.

In economics

Economics

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

, queueing is seen as one way to ration

Rationing

Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, or services. Rationing controls the size of the ration, one's allotted portion of the resources being distributed on a particular day or at a particular time.- In economics :...

scarce

Scarcity

Scarcity is the fundamental economic problem of having humans who have unlimited wants and needs in a world of limited resources. It states that society has insufficient productive resources to fulfill all human wants and needs. Alternatively, scarcity implies that not all of society's goals can be...

goods and services.

Physical queue

Organized queue areas are commonly found at amusement park

Amusement park

thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...

s. The rides have a fixed number of guests that can be served at any given time, so there has to be some control over additional guests who are waiting. This led to the development of formalized queue areas—areas in which the lines of people waiting to board the rides are organized by railings, and may be given shelter from the elements with a roof over their heads, inside a climate-controlled building or with fans and misting devices.

In some amusement parks - Disney Parks

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is the segment of The Walt Disney Company that conceives, builds, and manages the company's theme parks and holiday resorts, as well as a variety of additional family-oriented leisure enterprises...

being a prime example - queue areas can be elaborately decorated, with holding areas fostering anticipation

Anticipation

Anticipation can refer to:* Anticipation , a 1971 album by Carly Simon* Anticipation , the title track of this album* Anticipation , a 2008 comedy album by Lewis Black*Anticipation...

, thus shortening the perceived wait for people in the queue by giving them something interesting to look at as they wait, or the perception that they have arrived at the threshold of the attraction.

Queues are generally found at transportation terminals where security

Security

Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...

screenings are conducted.

Large stores and supermarkets may have dozens of separate queues, but this can cause frustration, as different lines tend to be handled at different speeds; some people are served quickly, while others may wait for longer periods of time. Sometimes two people who are together split up and each waits in a different line; once it is determined which line is faster, the one in the slower line joins the other. Another arrangement is for everyone to wait in a single line; a person leaves the line each time a service point opens up. This is a common setup in bank

Bank

A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...

s and post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

Virtual queue

Physical queueing is sometimes replaced by virtual queueing. In a waiting room there may be a system whereby the queuer asks and remembers where his place is in the queue, or reports to a desk and signs in, or takes a ticket with a number from a machine. These queues typically are found at doctor

Physician

A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

s' offices, hospital

Hospital

A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....

s, town halls, social security

Social security

Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...

offices, labor exchanges, the Department of Motor Vehicles

Department of Motor Vehicles

In the United States of America, a Department of Motor Vehicles is a state-level government agency that administers vehicle registration and driver licensing. Similar departments exist in Canada...

, the Department of Immigration, free internet access

Internet access

Many technologies and service plans for Internet access allow customers to connect to the Internet.Consumer use first became popular through dial-up connections in the 20th century....

in the state or council libraries, bank

Bank

A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...

s or post office

Post office

s and Call Centres. Especially in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, tickets are taken to form a virtual queue at delicatessens and children's shoe shops. In some countries such as Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, virtual queues are also common in shops and railway stations. A display sometimes shows the number that was last called for service.

Restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

s have come to employ virtual queueing techniques with the availability of application-specific pagers, which alert those waiting that they should report to the host to be seated. Another option used at restaurants is to assign customers a confirmed return time, basically a reservation issued on arrival.

Mobile queue

All of the above methods, however, suffer from the same drawback: the person arrives at the location only to find out that they need to wait. Recently, queues at DMV

DMV

The initials DMV can stand for either:*Department of Motor Vehicles or Division of Motor Vehicles, the US state-level agency*Deserted medieval village*Deutsche Mathematiker-Vereinigung, the German Mathematical Society...

s, colleges, restaurants, healthcare institutions, government offices and elsewhere have begun to be replaced by mobile queues or queue-ahead, whereby the person queueing uses his/her phone, the internet, a kiosk or another method to enter a virtual queue, optionally prior to arrival, is free to roam during the wait, and then gets paged at his/her mobile phone when his/her turn approaches. This has the advantage of allowing users to find out the wait forecast and get in the queue before arriving, roaming freely and then timing their arrival to the availability of service. This has been shown to extend the patience of those in the queue and reduce no-shows. Mobile queueing is more environmentally friendly than application-specific pagers, which require special-purpose batteries and hardware, and healthier from a public health perspective, as there is no shared device changing hands.

Queue ethics

Since queueing can be a boring

Boring

Boring often refers to anything that causes boredom.Boring may also refer to:Making holes*Boring , the drilling of holes or tunnels in the earth**Tunnel boring machine machine used in boring tunnels or shafts...

and time-consuming activity, but one that may also have high stakes (e.g. attempting to purchase a good or product with a limited availability, such as a concert

Concert

A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...

ticket), people can become angry when the unwritten rules of queueing are broken.

For example, in Britain it is unacceptable to queue-jump (to push in, skip, or cut in line

Cutting (in line)

Cutting in line, also known as line/queue jumping, butting, barging, budding, budging, skipping, ditching, breaking, shorting, or pushing in is the act of entering a queue or line at any position other than the end...

), although it is sometimes acceptable for one member of a party, waiting in the queue, to allow a second member of the party to join the first halfway through the queuing process, without the second member having to join the back of the queue.

In the United States, the above example from Britain (second member of a party) would also generally be accepted. It is acceptable for waiting persons to leave the queue briefly (to use the bathroom, etc.) and return to their original place, without having to ask neighbours to hold their place or to be allowed to return (however, many individuals would still tell their neighbours in the queue). It is also common to allow others to jump to the front of the queue in a train station to buy a ticket if their train is about to leave and if waiting from the back of the queue would cause them to miss their train. In supermarkets or restaurants, sometimes a person may be allowed to advance ahead in the queue if a person has a predetermined or basic order. This is based on courtesy

Courtesy

Courtesy comes from old french 'courteis' is gentle politeness and courtly manners. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the behaviour expected of the gentry was compiled in courtesy books...

of the queue members.

Physical queue design

When designing queues, planners attempt to make the wait as pleasant and as simple as possible. They employ several strategies to achieve this, including:

Expanding the capacity of the queue, thus allowing more patrons to have a place. This can be achieved by:
- Increasing the length of the queue by making the queue longer
- Increasing the size of the lanes within the queue
- Increasing the length of the queue by designing the line in a "zig-zag" shape that holds a large amount of guests in a smaller area. This is used often at amusement parks. Notable rides have a large area of this kind of line to hold as many people as possible in line. Portions of the line can be sectioned off and bypassed by guests if the queue is not crowded.
"In-line" entertainment can be added. This is popular at amusement parks like Walt Disney World, which uses TV screens and other visuals to keep people in the queue area occupied.
Secondary queue areas for patrons with special tickets, like the FASTPASS
FASTPASS
Disney Fastpass is a virtual queuing system created by the Walt Disney Company. First introduced in 1999 , Fastpass allows guests to avoid long lines at the attractions on which the system is installed, freeing them to enjoy other attractions during their wait...

system at Disney park, or the Q-bot as used in Legoland Windsor
Legoland Windsor
Legoland Windsor is a child-oriented theme park in Windsor, Berkshire in England, themed around the Lego toy system. The park opened in 1996 on the former Windsor Safari Park as the second Legoland after Legoland Billund in Denmark. The park is located within close distance of Windsor Castle and...

.

Using substitution in virtual queues

Before implementing a virtual queue, some thought should be given to the availability of substitutes. A substitute, in this context, is an alternative activity the queuer can participate in rather than standing in line. Ideally the substitute activity should be aligned with the objectives of both the queuer and the organisation where the queue forms. Providing a substitute activity for the queuer can be an effective approach for reducing perceived waiting time.

In a busy restaurant, a good substitute for a waiting customer would be a bar. At an outdoor attraction with long queues, a good substitute might be a side marquee selling merchandise or food.

A good substitute will:

Put the customer at ease allowing them to do something more interesting than standing in line
Increase the customer's tolerance level for waiting
Provide the organisation with an opportunity to generate additional revenue from the waiting customers
Tether the customer to the organisation making it less likely that the customer aborts their visit because of a long queue

Providing a well thought through substitute activity that complements the main product or service being queued for, can provide an organisation with a valuable customer service advantage.

Queue delays

Sometimes, often at amusement parks, there will be a modifiable sign at the start of the queue or halfway point in the queue informing people approximately how long their wait will be.

External links

For insight into the British habit of queueing, see standinaqueue

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.