A new study suggests that the British reputation for patient queueing may be under threat, with high street customers increasingly abandoning purchases when faced with long lines. The research indicates that more than a quarter of shoppers will walk away from a purchase altogether if the queue is too long, costing retailers an estimated £3.4 billion annually.
The word 'queue' originates from the Latin 'cauda', meaning tail, and the habit of standing in line became a national obsession during the Second World War, when rationing and sporadic availability of goods made queueing a necessity. Professor Joe Moran of Liverpool John Moores University notes that queueing was born out of hardship and could be fraught with tension.
Modern innovations such as restaurant pagers and text alerts for table readiness have introduced the concept of the virtual queue, allowing customers to wait elsewhere. House of Fraser has trialled such a system for online collections, and some theme parks offer virtual queueing for an additional fee.
Despite these changes, the traditional queue persists, especially in times of scarcity, such as during petrol shortages. According to one survey, the average Briton spends 52 days of their life queueing, with supermarket queues accounting for the most time. Canadians and Singaporeans are the only nationalities that rival Britons in queueing prowess.
Common pet hates include queue-jumping, slow movement, and saving places for others. Fear of causing a scene often prevents confrontation. However, queues can break down, as seen at the opening of an Ikea store in London in 2005, where a stampede injured several people.
Psychologist Adrian Furnham of University College London has studied queueing behaviour, finding that people typically wait six minutes before giving up and avoid queues longer than six people. Gaps of fewer than six inches between people can cause anxiety. He concludes that queue-jumping triggers a strong sense of injustice and that understanding queueing is key to unlocking British culture.
