Patience is our virtue: Britons line up to say how we love to queue
BRITONS love an orderly queue, with nine in 10 saying the sight of a wellbehaved waiting line makes them feel genuinely happy, according to a study.
Research has revealed the extent to which we like to wait in an orderly fashion, spending on average 31 hours a year standing politely in queues – totalling 1,953 hours, or 81 days, in an average adult life.
The poll found that almost half (45 per cent) claim we queue better than anywhere else in the world, with 96 per cent thinking the art of lining up is the essence of the British character.
The study of almost 2,000 adults, commissioned by First Bus, found that we take umbrage at queue-bargers.
Seventy-three per cent say they should be made to go to the back of the line and nine per cent insist they should be fined.
A militant seven per cent even say people who jump the queue should face a prison sentence. However, 25 per cent admit they have pushed into a queue once or twice when it has been urgent.
Seven per cent say they push in “all the time”.
On average, people have to spend 12 minutes in a queue before they start getting cross with others.
The average Briton would pay £3 to avoid standing in a queue for longer than 20 minutes.
Thirty-two per cent will chat to a stranger, 30 per cent will text pals while one in five will sigh and tut. Thirty-five per cent say they daydream.
Our least favourite queues are for the toilet, loathed by 44 per cent, followed by shop check-outs (33 per cent),
But 68 per cent overall believe that they wait less in queues than their parents did, thanks to timesaving devices and online booking.