Queuing Etiquette

 
The word queue is simply ‘q’ with a few silent letters waiting in a line. In India, it’s quite obvious that nobody wants or likes to wait in line. People here crowd awkwardly close to each other to keep their place in the queue and beware of the line-cutters. When some form a queue, suddenly someone else forms a new queue and many such branches sprout until there is a fully-grown human tree, with dense foliage of impatient fools. The queue yields to scrum and turns to a state of war in which people get what they want based on how nasty they are. Of course, some are relaxed and less eager to go in for it. I often cringe at the idea that humans compete and fight for their interests. There is a need to enforce queues, to go from mayhem to order. So, what would life be like without order? The 17th-century English philosopher Thomas Hobbs says that it’s a war of all against all. It’s awful! The solution he offers is a government that is strong enough to enforce rules.
While in Britain, I’ve seen the Brits queue up with a sense of fair play. In the Wimbledon queue, people camp overnight in a queue for tickets. They are renowned for doing it and they do it well. Why are they so good at it? It didn’t just come naturally, but history shaped the British queue. Queuing in Britain apparently originated during the Industrial Revolution. The mass scaling up of manufacturing and setting up of formal shops in Britain required people to queue. Queuing became obligatory in wartime Britain. The second World War led to very uncertain times. The government asked the people, ‘to do their duty and wait their turn’. People queued for long hours braving rough weather for rations. Ever since then, queuing etiquette is associated with the Brits. But I’ve also witnessed, a lack of civilized queuing in some places in the UK. In the ever-busy London Victoria railway station, I’ve experienced the demise of the queuing etiquette while boarding trains during rush hours. Here people have to regulate the queue themselves. Again, according to Hobbs, the system breaks down when people have to enforce the rules themselves. So, even a Brit can jump a queue if they could, just like everyone else.
Humans always tend to escape from linear waiting. Some businesses sell premium memberships that let one skip the queue. So, businesses conceive people as unequal with those who can pay more being better than others. The scrum makes a comeback, in this case, it works well for the fortunate ones. We somehow believe we shouldn’t have to wait. What we need should just be there waiting for us. At the grocery store, I tend to pick the shortest line but eventually, I pick a random one because they all look the same. The queuing theory formulated by the Danish engineer Erlang in 1920 is a great mathematical tool to understand the phenomenon of waiting in line. He worked for the Copenhagen Telephone Exchange. Back then in the telephone service, people were put on hold for too long. He came up with a formula to calculate how many lines and operators are required for a good service. Multiple parallel queues look great if you are in a line that moves quickly. If you’re stuck, it might feel unfair and some tend to switch lines. Some businesses have snake queues which I feel is nice because you don’t have to pick a line, all are in a single queue and then linearly sent to an available counter.
However, a good queuing experience depends not only on the speed of the line but also on how the wait makes us feel. Waiting makes us aware of the sights and sounds around us. Waiting makes us appreciative of simple things. Waiting makes us think. So, even the time we wait for matters. It took the Brits, two centuries to engage and establish a disciplined queuing. How long would it take India?