Queue areas are places in which people in line (first-come, first-served) wait for goods or services.^[1] 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.

Queueing^[2] is a phenomenon in a number of fields, and has been extensively analysed in the study of queueing theory.

In economics, queueing is seen as one way to ration scarce goods and services.

Contents 1 Types of queues 1.1 Physical queue 1.2 Virtual queue 2 Queue ethics 3 Physical queue design 4 Queue delays 5 References 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] Types of queues

[edit] Physical queue

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Organized queue areas are commonly found at amusement parks. 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 being a prime example - queue areas can be elaborately decorated, with holding areas fostering 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 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^{[citation needed]}; a person leaves the line each time a service point opens up. This is a common setup in banks.

[edit] 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 doctors' offices, hospitals, town halls, social security offices, labor exchanges, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Immigration, free internet access in the state or council libraries, banks or post offices. Especially in the United Kingdom, tickets are taken to form a virtual queue at delicatessens and children's shoe shops. In some countries such as Sweden, virtual queues are also common in shops and railway stations. A display sometimes shows the number that was last called for service.

Restaurants 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.

[edit] Queue ethics

Since queueing can be a boring 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 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), 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.

[edit] 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 system at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

[edit] 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.

[edit] References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (June 2008)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)

1. ^ Such a group of people is known as a queue (British usage) or line (American usage), and the people are said to be waiting or standing in a queue or in line, respectively. (In some areas of the U.S., especially New York City, the phrase on line is used instead.) learnersdictionary.com. Retrieved 2009-4-29.
2. ^ Also spelled queuing. askoxford.com. Retrieved 2009-4-29.

• Maister, D.H. (1988). Managing Services: Marketing, Operations and Human Resources. Prentice-Hall. 
• Mercer, David. Redefining marketing in the multi-channel age. Wiley. 

[edit] See also

• Consumer goods in the Soviet Union (for information on queues in the Soviet Union)
• Cutting (in line)
• Call centre

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Queues

• For an insight into the British habit of queueing, see standinaqueue