According
to an MIT professor, we spend 2-3 years of our life waiting in lines:
in stores, at the doctor's, at the bank, at the airport, for public
transport, for government services and so on. And that doesn't include
the time we spend waiting in lines in our cars (in traffic jams and red
lights) or on the phone ("you are number... 58 in the queue...your call is
important to us...")
It is unnatural
to wait in lines. That's why in some countries, people just push ahead
and refuse to stay in order. It's also why people will pay money to
jump the queue.
A queue created by a vendor, in person or on the
phone, is the vendor's way of telling you that they believe their time
is more important and valuable than yours. A doctor who overbooks and
then makes you wait an hour after your scheduled appointment is sending
the same message. A lineup for a social event (with bouncers ready if
you misbehave) is a power trip for those who deliberately create it.
Unfortunately, oligopolies can afford to treat customers this way,
because they are all in cahoots to offer the same lousy, rude service
to cut their costs.
Government queues, including traffic jams
caused by inadequate road systems, are an attempt to be frugal with
taxpayers' money, and sometimes also a deliberate barrier designed to
discourage certain behaviours (e.g. driving cars) and encourage others
(e.g. public transit).
Lines for service by large organizations,
both public and private, are further exacerbated by bureaucracy. Small
is beautiful and size creates the inevitability of queues to counter
the inherent inefficiency of large organizations. Scale may reduce
their cost, but it inevitably increases the customer's waiting time.
Queues are also a reflection of imaginative failure, because in most cases they are unnecessary:
- Technologies
should be able to predict and schedule staff to avoid line-ups, to
advise people in advance, 24/7 from anywhere, when and where they will
face delays and appropriate workarounds for them, and, when delays are
unavoidable, to schedule alternative times when there will be little or
no delay.
- Processes should be redesigned to eliminate waits, which almost always cost more than the cost of improving the process.
- Facilities
should be made available so that people who must wait in a line can do
other productive tasks (work or recreational) while they wait.
Such
imaginative failure costs our economy billions, frequently leads to
violence or accidents, and causes unnecessary stress and ultimately
human illness. So why do we put up with it? Because in this world of
supposedly limitless choice, there really is no choice at all. You can
wait in line A or line B. And if you have a problem with that, line C
starts around the corner. Don't get angry. Don't tell us how to do our
job better. Just stay in line.
Painting: Queue by Jeffrey Palladini
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MADE IN CANADA
trust your
instincts 
