4 Psychological Reasons Your Customers Hate Waiting In Line

Waiting in line is all about perception. Studies on the psychology of queuing show that customers don’t always hate the wait itself; they hate feeling uncertain, unvalued, or stuck in a poorly managed system. Unclear expectations and poor customer service amplify frustration, making even short waits irritating.

But lines don’t have to mean unhappy customers or lost revenue. By understanding the psychological pain of waiting, retailers can create queue experiences that reduce stress while increasing satisfaction and sales. Let’s take a closer look at the psychology behind why people hate waiting in line — and solutions that businesses can adopt.

Pain point #1: Wait time is uncertain and unexplained

No one likes feeling stuck in a time suck. Whether waiting at an airline security checkpoint or at a retail checkout line, people feel better when they feel they’re moving toward a goal.

Psychologically, certainty is reassuring, whereas fear of the unknown triggers stress. One study found that people were less stressed when they knew what lay on the other side of a physical barrier than when left wondering what to expect.

We’re more willing to wait when we understand the reason behind it. A traffic jam feels more manageable  when we see an accident ahead versus being stuck with no explanation. Similarly, a long line outside a restaurant feels worth the wait when it’s perceived to be “the most popular.”

Solutions: 

• Incorporate electronic queuing and digital signage so queue movement is both visible and equitable.
• Turn barrier panels into built-in messaging vehicles featuring ads, promotions, or wayfinding info.
• Implement a quick pre-queue check-in process, where you clearly communicate any potential delays to customers upfront. 

Pain point #2: The line structure is perceived as unfair

Queuing is an unspoken agreement to play by the rules. When that social contract is broken, frustration spikes. 

Take, for example, lines at major live events: a study of U2 concert goers found attendees outraged by those who were allowed to short circuit the line, even when their own wait time remained unchanged. 

And as author Alex Stone proposes, “In a system of multiple queues, customers almost always fixate on the line they’re losing to and rarely the one they’re beating.”  

Solutions:

• Form a single-line queuing system that feeds into multiple service stations for built-in fairness.

• Display electronic queuing signage that directs customers to the next available service representative. 

• Discourage line skippers by clearly defining queue lanes with retractable belt stanchions. 

Paint point #3: Idle time feels longer

“A day full of waiting, of unsatisfied desire for change, will seem a small eternity,” wrote 19th-century philosopher William James. His words still ring true — stagnation and idleness deeply bother the psyche.

Our brains, driven by dopamine, shape our perception of time — when deprived of stimulation, time feels like it stretches on endlessly.  One University of Virginia study found that people, when left alone with their thoughts, would rather administer mild electric shocks to themselves than sit idly. (Dare we say, a shocking finding?)

Even small distractions ease the psychological burden of waiting. Mirrors in office lobbies, live music in bank lobbies, and TVs in waiting rooms keep attention occupied and reduce wait complaints.

Executives at a Houston airport found that passengers complained about long baggage claim waits, even after they increased the number of baggage handlers and reduced the wait to eight minutes. The real problem? Passengers spent 88% of their time standing still. After rerouting arrivals to a farther carousel, making passengers walk six times longer, complaints vanished. Simply put: the occupied time walking felt shorter than the unoccupied time waiting.

Solutions:

• Keep customers engaged and occupied in your queues with slatwalls and retail merchandising.

• Capture attention with custom signage that tells a story about a product or your brand.

• Shorten perceived wait times by playing videos and slideshows on an electronic queuing system.

Pain point #4: The quality of the end reward doesn’t offset the wait

According to the peak-end rule, the final moments of a wait shape how people remember it: an experience that includes a longer wait can be viewed more positively than a shorter wait if the end (the resolution) is highly rewarding. 

Think of being serviced by an extremely friendly and compassionate representative, getting a free sample in your bag, or hearing about how close you are to your next loyalty reward can make a customer feel valued and appreciated — casting a positive halo over the entire queue experience. 

There are other proactive steps that businesses can take to increase the feeling of reward and decrease negative perception if customers have to wait in line.  

Solutions:

• Delight customers with hard-to-resist impulse shopping items displayed in fun merchandising bowls.

• Boost basket size with portable gondolas that turn idle wait time into a chance to browse bestsellers, seasonal items, or loyalty promotions.

• A line suddenly shortening is a welcome jolt of surprise. Use smart guidance systems to automatically shorten a queue as traffic decreases.

Turn queue management strategy into your advantage

Strategic queue management makes the wait feel easier, expedites movement, and boosts sales.Tap into the insights of Lavi queuing experts to design and deploy smart queue solutions based on decades of experience on how to optimize queues and minimize waits.