Do you hate being stuck in a queue? This is how to avoid them
Nobody likes waiting in a queue.
Despite the fact that we hate them, we seem to spend a large amount of our time stuck in queues. So much time in fact, that a company in Manhattan, Same Old Dude Lines (SOLD), will send people to wait in a queue for you for a fee.
One reason that we find queues so frustrating is that no matter what, we always insist that had we chosen a different cashier, or traffic lane, then we wouldn’t have been waiting.
So, is there a way to skip the queue every time? Possibly, we found some tricks designed to help you spend less time waiting around and more time living your best life.
Stop going right:
Founder of SOLD, Robert Samuels, says: “The majority of us are right-handed and the right side line will always tend to be the longest. We instinctively go to the right.”
So perhaps we should reconsider our preferences next time we’re doing the groceries.
Shift your thinking:
Why are we willing to wait for hours outside an Ed Sheeran concert but two minutes in the local shop makes our blood boil? Researchers discovered this is because we value experience over products.
So next time you’re pissed off in the supermarket consider the positive experience waiting once you get home.
Do the maths:
Someone actually did. No seriously, someone has actually done the research for this.
Dan Myer has worked out a formula for choosing the shortest line at the supermarket. “Every item in everyone’s baskets and carts has an average time cost associated with it,” Meyer says.
And that time cost is around three seconds per item. You also have to allow 41 seconds for greeting the cashier and paying.