Five Things to Help Keep Queues Moving

Whether you’ve been waiting days, weeks or months for an event, arriving at your destination is always a fantastic feeling. Sometimes you quickly go through the gates, other times you’re not so lucky. But don’t let the queues dampen your spirits, here’s how you can speed up your wait.

 

1. Have your ticket ready.

Sounds obvious, but you can be sure that not everybody does this. Whether you’re queuing at a festival or at your local cinema, you would have heard the words “please, everybody have your tickets ready”. There’s a good reason for this; it avoids delays and helps everyone get to where they want to be. It’s no surprise that you have to present your ticket, digital or physical, so be ready and the queue will move a bit faster.

2. If your name’s not down, be patient.

This may have happened to you before. Being on a guest list is always exciting. You’ve come a long way, you’ve been queuing for a while and now that you’re at the very front you find your name’s missing from the list. It happens. Everyone on-site is very busy and sometimes your name doesn’t quite make it onto the list it should be on. Be patient, stand to the side whilst this gets checked, and you’ll be in there in no time.

3. Pack sensibly.

The general advice, which you will see again and again, is pack only what you need. There’s loads of handy checklists out there to make sure you don’t forget the essentials but this advice is reiterated for good reason. Robust security measures are with everyone’s safety in mind, and this is taken very seriously by event organisers. Ultimately, it’s all for your benefit, so be kind to those who care about your wellbeing. Pack light, ensure your belongings are easily searchable and know if you have a bag of crammed secret pockets, the wait will be longer.

 

Queues are part and parcel of events, so find ways to enjoy them.

Don’t let queues dampen your spirits. Time flies when you’re having fun!

4. Wait your turn, everyone has the same goal.

Let’s be honest, no one really likes queues. Even the British! But it’s a means to an end and is the most efficient and fair way to get everyone through the gates. Yes you might have been queuing a while but that doesn’t mean you can start creeping up the line. Holding a place in the queue for a friend is fine, but being joined by your whole group is not cool. If they were late meeting you tough luck, it’s the back of the line for them. Just imagine if everyone in the queue ahead of you was joined by 15 of their friends. Besides, it won’t be long before you’re reunited inside.

5. Quit yer moaning and make some friends.

A queue moves as fast as it moves and repeatedly asking security and gate staff “how long mate” or “what’s the hold up”, won’t make it move any quicker. In fact, constantly interrupting those trying to do their job will only make the wait longer, as well as reminding you that you’re still in the queue. So, why not take your mind off things and get to know the people either side of you in the line, chat about the weekend ahead or play a good old fashioned game of eye spy. Time flies when you’re having fun!

 

What a wonderful world it would be if everyone followed these simple, but effective golden rules to queuing. Well it can, and it’s as easy as 1,2,3 (ahem…4,5).

 

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