Queue management in general
Queue management is a fundamental aspect of the operation of facilities that receive large numbers of visitors, as is often the case in leisure and tourism facilities. It is crucial, for example, in water and theme parks, animal parks and amusement parks. After all, queues that force visitors to wait too long not only discourage them from joining the queue, but also deter them from returning to the attraction. Therefore, queue management that reduces or, better still, avoids queues as far as possible, helps to ensure that visitors take home a positive experience. As a result, and with the “word of mouth” phenomenon, visitors will pass on a positive image of the business within their circles.
The mathematics of queues
The evolution of any queue is related to two fundamental variables: the arrival rate, which is the measure of the rate at which the queue is fed, or the rate of arrival of new individuals per unit of time; and the service rate, in other words. the rate at which visitors and users in the queue are served, also measured in individuals per unit of time. It is therefore easy to see that if the arrival rate is higher than the service rate, the queue will grow; on the other hand, if the service rate is higher than the arrival rate, the queue will tend to disappear; on the other hand, if both rates are similar, the length of the queue will remain constant.
An extreme queue as an example
Perhaps the best way to discuss some of the fundamentals of queue management is to use an example. What better example than an extreme case? This was the queue where people queued up to go through the Chapel of Burial at the Palace of Westminster to bid farwell to Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, between 15th and 19th September 2022. At peak attendance, the queue reached 8 km in length, with estimated waiting times of 14 hours. The British government later claimed that some 250,000 people came to pay their last respects to the monarch.
Well, to manage the huge queue, the authorities simply followed the methods commonly used in water and theme parks, amusement parks, animal parks and other similar leisure and tourism facilities. The basic criteria they followed were transparency, order, assistance and entertainment.
Transparency in queue management
Live monitoring and constant information, via social media and television, on queue length and estimated waiting time provided a healthy transparency that avoided surprises and frustrations for citizens. Thanks to this reliable information, attendees could not only decide whether to join the queue or opt to follow the events by other means, but also prepare themselves for what it would be like to face the queue in the first case.
Order in queue management
With regard to the provision of order, the organisers also took the model of water and theme parks, animal parks and amusement parks. In these, long queues are often guided by barriers and distributed according to a zigzagging trajectory. On the one hand, this arrangement offers the advantage of efficient use of space. On the other hand, it also conveys to citizens, not only a sense of order, but also the feeling that the queue is shorter than it actually is. Both feelings contribute to the relief of the long-suffering attendees.
Entertainment while queuing
Another of the queue management strategies that the organisers of the farewell to Elizabeth II took from the parks sector, was precisely that of entertainment and distraction. The BFI Southbank cinema, part of the British Film Institute, screened archive footage of Elizabeth II’s long reign on giant screens along the last kilometre of the route and before reaching the Palace of Westminster. In this way, they offered mourners, waiting patiently at some point in the long, snaking queue for their turn to say goodbye to the Queen, the option to occupy their thoughts and distract themselves with content unrelated to the hassle of queuing for hours.
Assistance and services in managing a queue
In terms of assistance, the British authorities anticipated the need for more than 1,000 staff to ensure that no one would jump the queue and therefore avoid abuses that would have added to the public anxiety. In addition, they installed 500 portable toilets and implemented a wristband system that allowed people to leave the queue to buy food and drink without missing their turn. They also set up a queue exclusively for people with functional diversity.
Waiting time in a queue
In a final reflection, we must consider that beyond mathematical parameters, the perception of time is a subjective matter. In other words, the real waiting time is not the same as the perception of the person waiting. Although a few minutes is not a long time, it can seem eternal to customers, visitors and users who are stood waiting for their turn to take part in an activity. From a psychological rather than a quantitative point of view, in order to avoid frustration, it is generally estimated that a reasonable waiting time should be between 5 and 10 minutes. This is best applied when dealing with leisure and tourism facilities such as water and theme parks, amusement parks or animal parks. It is not so easy when dealing with an exceptional situation, as was the case with the massive farewell ceremony for monarch Elizabeth II.
Sources: Wired, Newcastle Systems, Atlas Consultora, Reuters.
