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Psychology of Waiting Lines PDF
Psychology of Waiting Lines PDF
Lines
By David H. Maister
considered a proposition concerning the the waiting experience into the total
psychology of waiting. service experience).
We begin with one of the most familiar: This suggests that the activity provided
to 'fill time' should (a) offer benefit in
Occupied Time Feels Shorter Than
and of itself, and (b) be related, in some
Unoccupied Time.
way, to the following service encounter.
As William James, the noted philosopher
The best example of this I ever
observed: "Boredom results from being
encountered in relation to telephone
attentive to the passage of time itself. (7)
waits was the story of the sports team
A more colloquial version might be 'A
that, when lines were occupied, played
watched pot never boils'. The truth of
highlights of the previous week's game.
this proposition has been discovered by
In one memorable incident, a caller was
many service organizations. In various
transferred from the queue to the
restaurants, it is common practice to
hand out menus for customers to peruse receptionist, whereupon he screamed
"Put me back, (so-and-so) is just about
while waiting in line. Apart from
to score!"
shortening the perception of time, this
practice has the added benefit of It should also be noted, however, that
shortening the service time, since there can be circumstances where a
customers will be ready to order once service may choose to fill time with an
they are seated, and will not tie up table unrelated activity. In certain medical or
space making up their minds). dental waiting rooms, there appears to be
a conscious attempt to distract the
A similar tactic is to turn the waiting
patient's attention from the upcoming
area into a bar, which also adds to
activity, perhaps on the grounds that to
revenue as well as occupying time. Use
remind the patient of what is about to
can be made of poster, reading material
occur might heighten fears and hence
(or even shifting lights, rolling balls and
make the wait more uncomfortable.
other 'adult toys') to distract the waiter's
attention away from the passage of time. The wisdom of this I cannot attest to (I
'Theme' restaurants (such as Victoria have read too many National Geographic
Station) which provide interesting magazines). Even in this context, it is
memorabilia to examine also are possible to provide service-related
applying the lesson of occupying waits distractions. Many medical clinics
as part of the service. provide weighing machines and eye
charts, in the waiting room: I have even
In some situations, such as telephone
seen patients merrily occupied with self-
waits, it is difficult to "fill up" time in a
testing thermometers, breath-strength
constructive way. The familiar 'Muzak'
equipment and the like.
played by some organizations when their
telephone-answering agents are busy is, People Want to Get Started.
to many people, an added annoyance One of the other virtues of handing out
rather than a benefit. In large part, this is menus, providing a drinks bar and other
because the activity (listening to music) methods of service-related time-fillers is
is totally unrelated to the service activity that they convey the sense the 'service
to come (whereas, the use of menus and has started: we know that you are here'. I
bars cited above successfully integrated would hypothesize that people waiting to
make their first human contact with the had the experience of choosing a line at
service organization are much more the supermarket or airport, and stood
impatient than those who have 'begun': there worrying that he had, indeed,
in other words, preprocess waits are chosen the wrong line. As one stands
perceived as longer than in-process there trying to decide whether to move,
waits. the anxiety level increases and the wait
becomes intolerable. This situation is
Again, I appeal to common experience
covered by what is known as Erma
to reflect the fact that one's 'anxiety'
Bombeck's Law:
level is much higher while waiting to be
served than it is while being served, even "The other line always moves faster".
though the latter wait may be longer. Is there anyone who has not had the
There is a fear of 'being forgotten'. (How experience of choosing a line at the
many times has the reader gone back to a supermarket or airport, and stood there
maitre d' to check that his or her name is worrying that we had, indeed, chosen the
still on the list?). wrong line? On a recent (open-seating)
Many restaurant owners instruct their Eastern Airlines shuttle fight, my fellow
service staff to pass by the table as soon passengers formed an agitated queue at
as the customers are seated to say "I'll be the boarding gate long before the flight
with you as soon as I can, after I've was due to depart, leading the attendant
looked after that table over there". In to announce: "Don't worry, folks, the
essence, the signal is being sent: 'We plane's a big one; you'll all get on."
have acknowledged your presence'. The change in atmosphere in the waiting
One walk-in medical clinic that I studied lounge was remarkable. Similar effort to
decided to introduce a triage system, deal with customer anxiety can be seen
whereby all patients were first met by a when airlines make on-board
nurse who recorded the patient's name announcements that connecting flights
and symptoms and decided whether or are being held for a delayed flight, when
not the patient could be treated by a movie theater managers walk down the
registered nurse practitioner or should be line reassuring patrons they will get in,
seen by a doctor. Even though the or when customer service agents in
addition of this step in the process had airport lobbies reassure waiting patrons
no impact on the time it took to see a that they are indeed waiting in the
medical service provider, surveys correct line and have sufficient time to
showed that patients were pleased with catch their flight.
'reduced waiting times'. The point, of One of the poorest examples I know of
course, was that they felt they had been manning anxiety is when I am on
'entered into' the system. standby for a flight, and the agent takes
Anxiety Makes Waits Seem Longer my ticket. Now I am anxious not only
about whether I will get on the flight, but
A large part of the concern that we feel
also about whether I will get my ticket
to 'get started' is due as noted above, to
back. I have been asked to give up
anxiety. In the cases cited, the anxiety
control of the situation. At least if I had
was about whether or not one had been
my ticket I could change my mind and
forgotten. Anxiety can, however, come
go to another airline. The prescription
from other sources. Nearly everyone has
for managers resulting form this
discussion is: ask yourself what often difficult to decide how far apart to
customers might be worrying abut schedule appointments. If they are too
(rationally or irrationally), and find ways far apart, the server is left idle waiting
to remove the worry. for the next appointment. If they are too
close together, appointments begin to
Uncertain Waits Are Longer than
run behind and, since they cumulate,
Known, Finite Waits
tend to make the server further and
The most profound source of anxiety in further behind.
waiting is how long the wait will be. For
This is a particularly acute problem
example, if a patient in a waiting room is
because a customer with an appointment
told that the doctor will be delayed thirty
has been given a specific expectation
minutes, he experiences an initial
about waiting times, and a failure to
annoyance but then relaxes into an
deliver on this premise makes the wait
acceptance of the inevitability of the
seem longer than if no appointment had
wait. However, if the patient is told the
been made. This does not mean that
doctor will be free soon, he spends the
appointment systems should never be
whole time in a state of nervous
used. They are, after all, a way of giving
anticipation, unable to settle down,
the customer a finite expectation. It
afraid to depart and come back. The
should be recognized, however, that an
patient's expectations are being managed
appointment defines an expectation that
poorly. Likewise, the pilot who
must be met.
repeatedly announces "only a few more
minutes” adds insult to injury when the Unexplained Waits Are Longer than
wait goes on and on. Not only are the Explained Waits
customers being force d to wait, but they On a cold and snowy morning, when I
are not being dealt with honestly. telephone for a taxi, I begin with the
A good example of the role of expectation that my wait will be longer
uncertainty in the waiting experience is than on a clear, summer day.
provided by the "appointment Accordingly, I wait with a great deal
syndrome." Clients who arrive early for more patience because I understand the
an appointment will sit contentedly until causes for the delay. Similarly, if a
the scheduled time, even if this is a doctor's receptionist informs me that an
significant amount of time in an absolute emergency has taken place, I can wait
sense (say, thirty minutes). However, with greater equanimity that if I do not
once the appointment time is passed, know what is going on. Airline pilots
even a short wait of, say, ten minutes, understand this principle well; on-board
grows increasingly annoying. The wait announcements are filled with references
until the appointed time is finite; waiting to tardy baggage handlers, fog over
beyond the point has no knowable limit. landing strips, safety checks, and air-
traffic controllers' clearance instructions.
Appointment systems are, in practice,
The explanation given may or may not
troublesome queue-management tools.
exculpate the service provider, but is it
They suffer form the problem that some
better than no explanation at all.
customers may make appointments
without showing up (a problem endemic Most serving personnel are repeatedly
to airlines, hotels, dentists, and hair asked about the circumstances in waiting
cutters) and also from the fact that it is situations. The lack of an explanation is
one of the prime factors adding to a Unfair Waits Are Longer than
customer's uncertainty about the length Equitable Waits
of the wait. However, knowing the As Sasser, Olsen, and Wycoff (1979)
length of the wait is not the only reason note, one of the most frequent irritants
a customer wants an explanation. As the mentioned by customers at restaurants is
Federal Express advertisement points the prior seating of those who have
out, waiting is also demoralizing. arrived later. They observe: "The feeling
Waiting in ignorance creates a feeling of that somebody has successfully 'cut in
powerlessness, which frequently results front' of you causes even the most
in visible irritation and rudeness on the patient customer to become furious.
part of customers as they harass serving Great care to be equitable is vital" (1979,
personnel in an attempt to reclaim their 89)
status as paying clients. In turn, this
behavior makes it difficult for the In many waiting situations, there is no
serving personnel to maintain their visible order to the waiting line. In
equanimity. For example, on a situations such as waiting for a subway
significantly delayed flight, one cabin train, the level of anxiety demonstrated
attendant was force to announce to the is high, and the group waiting is less a
passengers: "Please pay us the courtesy queue than a mob. Instead of being able
of being polite to us so that we can to relax, each individual remains in a
reciprocate in kind." state of nervousness about whether their
priority in the line is being preserved. As
Naturally, justifiable explanations will already noted, agitated waits seem
tend to soothe the waiting customer longer than relaxed waits. It is for this
more than unjustifiable explanations. A reason that many service facilities have a
subtle illustration of this is provided by system of taking a number, whereby
the practice of many fast food chains each customer is issued a number and
which instruct serving personnel to take served in strict numerical order. In some
their rest breaks out of sight of waiting facilities, the number currently being
customers. The sight of what seems to be served is prominently displayed so that
available serving personnel sitting idle customers can estimate the expected
while customers wait, is a source of waiting times.
irritation.
Such systems can work well in queuing
Even if such personnel are, in fact, situations where "first in, first out"
occupied (for example, a bank teller who (FIFO) is the appropriate rule for queue
is not serving customers but catching up discipline. However, in many situations
on paperwork), the sight of serving customers may be ranked in order of
personnel not actually serving customers importance, and priorities allocated that
is "unexplained." In the customers' eyes, way. A good example is a walk-in
he or she is waiting longer than medical facility which will frequently
necessary. The explanation that the break the FIFO rule to handle emergency
"idle" personnel are taking a break or cases. Also familiar is the example of the
performing other tasks is frequently less restaurant that has a finite supply of two-
than acceptable. person, four-person, and large tables,
and seats customers by matching the size
of the party to the size of the table. A
final example is the use of express- The main point to be stressed here is that
checkout lanes in supermarkets, whereby the customer's sense of equity is not
customers with only a few items are always obvious, and needs to be
dealt with a special server. explicitly managed. Whatever priority
rules apply, the service provider must
All of these cases represent departures
make vigorous efforts to ensure that
form the FIFO system. In some, the
these rules match with the customer's
priority rules are accepted by the
sense of equity, either by adjusting the
customers as equitable and observed-for
rules or by actively convincing the client
example, the supermarket express
that the rules are indeed appropriate.
checkout. In other illustrations, such as
the restaurant with varying sizes of The More Valuable the Service, the
tables, the priority rule that seats Longer the Customer Will Wait
customers by the size of party is less The example of the supermarket
accepted by the customers, and express-checkout counter reminds us
frequently resented. The rule may serve that our tolerance for waiting depends
the restaurant, but the customer has a upon the perceived value of that for
harder time seeing the equity benefit. which we wait. Special checkout
Similarly, special service facilities for counters were originally provided
important customers may or may not be because customers with only a few items
accepted as equitable. For this reason, felt resentful at having to wait a long
many service facilities physically time for what was seen as a simple
separate premium servers (for example, transaction. Customers with a full cart of
first-class airline check-in counters) groceries were much more inclined to
form the sight of regular customers sot tolerate lines.
hat the latter will not resent the special Airlines, too, have discovered this
service rendered. principle and provided separate lines for
A slightly different example of the those with simple transactions (such as
equity problem in queue management is seat selection), medium-difficulty
provided by the serving person who is transactions (baggage check-in), and
responsible not only for dealing with complex transactions (ticket purchase or
customers present in the serving facility, modification). Specialization by task
but also for answering the telephone. does not necessarily reduce the
aggregate amount of waiting in the
How many of us have not had the
system; however, it serves well to
experience of waiting while a
allocate the waiting among the customer
receptionist answers the telephones, and
base.
consequently felt a resentment that some
distant customer was receiving a higher That perceived value affects tolerance or
priority than we who have made the waits can be demonstrated by our
effort to come to the service facility? common experience in restaurants-we
The example can be extended to those will accept a much longer waiting time
people who answer their telephone while at a haute cuisine facility than at a
you are in their office. by answering the "greasy spoon." In universities, there is
phone, they are giving you a lesser an old rule of thumb that if the teacher is
priority than the random caller. delayed, "You wait ten minutes for an
assistant professor, fifteen minutes for an
Notes
1. Fortune, 28 July 1980, p. 10
2. A notable exception is the brief
discussion given in Sasser, Olsen, and
Wyckoff (1979). A good summary of the
work of psychologists in this area is
provided by Doob (1960).
WEBSITE: www.davidmaister.com
Michael R. Solomon and Carol
HTU UTH