The Psychology of

Waiting Lines

Hristo Kolev

Based on Maister D. H. (2005) and William J. Stevenson W.J., (2012)

Index

1. Introduction

2. General Approach to Wailing Lines

3. The 2 Laws of Service

4. Managing customers’ acceptance: the 8 psychological

considerations

1. Introduction

…are frustrating, demoralizing, agonizing, aggravating,

annoying, time consuming and incredibly expensive

…occur when there is a temporary imbalance between

supply and demand.

…are one of the seven wastes in lean systems

…add to the cost of operation and reflect negatively on CSAT

2. General Approach to

Wailing Lines

Queuing Theory

Mathematical approach

Planning and analysis of waiting lines

Centered in minimize Customer waiting cost and capacity cost

Psychology of Waiting Lines

In some instances it is not feasible to further shorten waiting times

“Experience of waiting”

Satisfaction, Perception, Expectation

3. The 2 Laws of Service

Satisfaction Perception Expectatio

n

…psychological

phenomena…

“It is hard to plan catch-up ball”

• Use the halo-effect from early stages

• Use money, time and attention to improve the perceived quality

4. Managing customers’

acceptance…

Occupied Time Feels Shorter than Unoccupied Time

Fill time should:

• Offer benefit in and of itself

• Be related to the following service encounter

Examples:

• Hand out menus for customers in a restaurant

• Turn the restaurant's waiting area into a bar

• “Put me back”

4. Managing customers’

acceptance…

People Want to Get Started

Customers fear of “being forgotten”, so companies should:

• Transmit the sense “we know that you are here”

• Enter the customer into the system

Examples:

• Staff passes by the table as soon as the customers are seated

• Nurse who records patient’s name, symptoms and allocates

4. Managing customers’

acceptance…

Anxiety Makes Waits Seem Longer

Customers get anxious when:

• They don’t feel to “get started”

• Feeling the “the other line moves faster”

Examples:

• Prevent queues announcing that “there is enough for everybody”

• Airlines make announcements that connecting flights are being held

4. Managing customers’

acceptance…

Uncertain Waits Are Longer than Known, Finite Waits

Companies should give its customers a prevision (finite expectation) to

relax them and minimized their anxiety.

Examples:

• Deal with the “appointment syndrome” – even a short wait could be

increasingly annoying.

• Deal with the troublesome queue-management tools:

• Some clients never show up

• Difficulties to decide how far apart to schedule appointments

• They give customers finite expectation

4. Managing customers’

acceptance…

Unexplained Waits Are Longer than Explained Waits

Waiting in ignorance creates a feeling of powerlessness, which

frequently results in visible irritation and rudeness and on the part of

customers as they harass serving personnel in an attempt to reclaim

their status as paying clients.

Examples:

• On a cold and snowy morning clients understand and wait for a taxi

with more patience, because they understand the causes.

• Bank catching up on paperwork personnel – wait for the “idle”

personnel to attend

4. Managing customers’

acceptance…

Unfair Waits Are Longer than Equitable Waits

Whatever priority rules apply, the service provider must make vigorous

efforts to ensure that these rules match with the customer’s sense of

equity, either by adjusting the rules or by actively convincing the client

that the rules are indeed appropriate.

Examples:

• Implement FIFO systems

• Avoid multitasking that could lead to “lesser priority” – don’t receive

calls when attending a customer

• Some rules serve for the provider, but are not accepted by the client

– tables in restaurant

4. Managing customers’

acceptance…

The More Valuable the Service, the Longer the

Customer Will Wait

Customers with a full cart of groceries are much more inclined to

tolerate lines, but waiting for something with little value could be

intolerable.

Examples:

• Express checkout

• Online check in

• Separate simple; medium-difficulty; and complex transactions.

4. Managing customers’

acceptance…

Solo Waits Feel Longer than Group Waits

Group waiting increases the tolerance for waiting time. Companies

must promote the sense of group waiting rather than isolating each

individual:

• Individuals share their exasperation

• Console each other

• Feel comfort in group waiting

Examples:

• Disneyland makes waiting part of the fun, part of the service