SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
It seems obvious. You arrive at the checkouts and see one queue is much longer than the other, so you join the shorter one. But, before long, the people in the bigger line zoom past you and you've barely moved towards the exit.
When it comes to queuing, the intuitive choice is often not the fastest one. Why do queues feel like they slow down as soon as you join them? And is there a way to decide beforehand which line is really the best one to join? Mathematicians have been studying these questions for years. So can they help us spend less time waiting in line?
The intuitive strategy seems to be to join the shortest queue. After all, a short queue could indicate it has an efficient server, and a long queue could imply it has an inexperienced server or customers who need a lot of time. But generally this isn't true.
[...] Once you're in the queue, you'll want to know whether you made the right choice. For example, is your server the fastest? It is easy to observe the actual queue length and you can try to compare it to the average. This is directly related to the mean and standard deviation of the service time via something called the Pollaczek-Khinchine formula, first established in 1930. This also uses the mean inter-arrival time between customers.
Unfortunately, if you try to measure the time the first person in the queue takes to get served, you'll likely end up feeling like you chose the wrong line. This is known as Feller's paradox or the inspection paradox. Technically, this isn't an actual logical paradox but it does go against our intuition. If you start measuring the time between customers when you join a queue, it is more likely that the first customer you see will take longer than average to be served. This will make you feel like you were unlucky and chose the wrong queue.
So, before you choose a queue to join, put the screaming kids down and carefully note the average serving time in each queue, measure the queue length, and then project which will get you through to a completed transaction quickest.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by AthanasiusKircher on Monday May 08 2017, @11:04PM (1 child)
Indeed. The one thing left out of this formula and TFA's discussion, as you rightly point out, is customers. All it takes is one person with a handful of disorganized coupons, the speed of a tortoise, and a change purse which they'll go fishing for pennies in, and you might as well have gone in the queue with 3 more people in it. In that case, the median arrival time or transaction time or efficiency of the cashiers will make no difference.
Anyhow, once you make your choice, you generally just settle in. Patience is indeed a virtue, and as I grow a bit older, I find it just doesn't matter that much to get all worked up about something I can't change. I understand sometimes one is actually in a legitimate hurry over something, but most of the time, will it really ruin your day to leave the store 3 minutes later?
And IF you are the type who obsesses over the length of queues and can't stand to wait more than absolutely necessary, go at a different time. I know some people have work and family schedules that prohibit it, but frequently there are times when stores are significantly less busy. Many grocery stores seem to do little business after ~8pm, and I find it's often the most pleasant time to shop. I tend to walk fast and carry a basket rather than use a large cart when possible, mostly because I hate wasting time. During most of the day, you'll have to dodge people left and right, wait for someone to clear an aisle or wait while they puzzle for 45 seconds over what brand of pre-grated Parmesan cheese they want to buy, etc. Often one wastes a lot more time dodging people and waiting to get around them in a busy store than in the checkout line. Going on weekends is generally a very bad choice, but if one has to, Sunday evenings often seem significantly less crowded (in my experience).
I'm not saying these are universally applicable rules, and depending on your schedule, other times may work better. (E.g., Many grocery stores open at 7am or 8am, and they can often be nearly empty on weekday mornings except for employees stocking shelves.) Of course, I think many of these times are seen as inconvenient for a lot of people, who don't feel like shopping late on a weeknight or whatever. Well, then you make your choice and stand in line.
Because I choose better times to shop, I VERY rarely end up standing in line behind more than one person to checkout. So this entire discussion in TFA seems designed for a strange audience, i.e., one so deathly afraid of waiting in line that they'll stand there with a stopwatch and collect data before choosing a line, but one NOT so deathly afraid of standing in line that they'd just choose to shop at a more ideal time when there are little to no lines at all.
(Score: 2) by art guerrilla on Tuesday May 09 2017, @01:17PM
i guess this is getting into 'get off my lawn' territory, but i really resent presumptuous pukes who get in the 'express 10 items only' line with 15-20 -or more!- items...
i know it is not a big thing, but -dog damn it- i don't do that to other people, why you treat all the rest of us like it is your world and the rest of us are just clogging it up for you ? ? ? fuck inconsiderate people like that...
probably the same entitled/clueless pukes who *have* to park in front of the store (you know, where the foot wide yellow lines scream at you NOT to park), because, well, because their individual convenience far outweighs the inconvenience they are causing for every one else... again, THEY are saying 'fuck you' to me, what else do they expect me to say to them ? ? ?
can't STAND people like that; i am a loner who wishes the rest of the world would FOAD, and *I* show more consideration and respect in public for my fellow nekkid apes than so-called normies do... hypocritical fucks...