Studying The Behaviour Of People In Queues
By Shreya Chopra, Jyotirmayee Das and Harinie Ananth
This was a presentation of our work during a 2-week workshop on “Material Experiments and Probing” under the guidance of Kshama Nagaraja and Naveen Bagalkot at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology.
ABSTRACT
We have investigated the behaviours of people in queues through various experiments conducted in the organised grocery retail space by probing into various interactions (human-human, human-non human) during a customers’ idle time (waiting time). We have been able to gather valuable insights about the behaviour of people in queues through three different experiments with three different materials: a sharing coupon, real-life scenario video sketches and a speculative concept video.
INTRODUCTION
Indians have a poor reputation for breaking queues. This led us to investigate the behaviours of people in queues. In this workshop, we want to probe into the various interactions (human-human, human-non human) in the idle time (waiting time) in a queue.
We started our probe into queues by doing a literature review about studies done on queue structures for maximum efficiency, better customer experience as well as rants by journalists in newspapers about the behaviour of Indians in queues. This made us realise that there are a lot of queue designs that have been studied and experimented with different setups. We also noted that behaviour of a queue in addition to the queue design and environment in which it exists is highly shaped by the various human factors such as gender, age(senior citizen, etc), people playing the VIP card, civic sense, fairness, “scarcity of resource mindset”, etc.
The initial questions we were considering to explore through our experiments:
- What are the interactions between people in a queue?
- Interactions with the service provider at checkout
- If a person is taking an unusually long time for billing, does it influence the behaviour of the queue?
- Does a person consider helping or help a differently abled individual or senior citizens in the queue?
- How is advantage or privilege (in terms of time, space, etc) shared among different kinds of people?
- What is the level of engagement in the phone and how it influences behaviour with other members of the queue?
EXPERIMENT: SHARING COUPONS
Sharing Coupons: First Iteration
Banking on the occasion of Valentine's day as an opportunity, we wanted to conduct an experiment to induce an artefact to see how people would interact when encouraged to share in a queue. We carried out an experiment of coupons sharing to understand how this could facilitate or induce a dialogue among the people standing in a queue. Due to some constraints, this experiment could not be facilitated, however, we noticed the following through active observation at a food court’s fast food stalls where long queues were forming as a movie show had recently ended:
- There exists an exercise of privilege when it comes to older citizens standing in a queue.
- The induced effect which makes people form a line by asking the question “Is there a queue”?
- Many a time there seems to be a subtle exchange of information or acknowledgement in the form of non-verbal queues.
Sharing Coupons: Second Iteration
We wanted to further study the interactions which happen during the idle time while waiting in a queue. To understand the same, we modified the existing coupons (as the earlier ones were designed for Valentines’ day) to induce an effect of sharing which might help facilitate a dialogue.
We carried out the experiments in organized groceries retail shops like Big Bazaar and also unorganized shops to understand their interactions while in a queue and also in a different environment.
Insights
On carrying out this experiment in few supermarkets, Spar, Big Bazaar, etc, we classified our observations into unknown unknowns (findings from the experiment that we did not anticipate) and knowns unknowns ((findings from the experiment that we anticipated)
1. Unknown unknowns
a.) There exists a difference in the engagement level of people in a queue when it comes to a group versus an individual.
For example, while conducting the experiment we observed that couples or people who game in groups were not only interacting among themselves but also with the external environment. In this case, the agents of the external environment were us (the researchers, giving them coupons). But, the people who had come alone we more likely to be engaged in their internal environment meaning their phones.
b.) We also observed that the service provider sitting at the checkout counter was actively taking part in the queue management activities apart from billing.
2. Known unknowns
a.) There exists an exchange of non-verbal cues among the people standing in the queue.
b.) People generally analyse the length of the line before joining.
c.) Leaving the queue by placing his or her basket to buy the left out items.
Learnings from the experiment (What worked, what didn’t work)
The sharing of coupons helped to understand certain behaviour which happens among people who came in groups as couples etc versus people who come alone for shopping in terms of their engagement level with the external and the internal environment.
It also helped us formulate certain traits which are observed among people in a queue:
- Sharing: The interactions which happen while in a queue due to some external stimulus, for example, in this case, the sharing of coupons, helped to study the varied behaviour of different kinds of people in a queue.
- Advantage: People who are differently abled, senior citizens or VIPs tend to get a place ahead in the queue.
- Signals: Body language of a person such as engagement in phone or seeing their watch
- signals to others about how they are feeling or whether they are open to interaction or not.
- Gestures: Which was basically between humans such as thanking each other, eye contact sharing expressions or waving.
EXPERIMENT: REAL LIFE SCENARIO VIDEO SKETCHES
As coupon sharing experiment, was inducing interactions and observations had to be made passively we decided more of an active way of engagement to be introduced as an experiment. So, we decided on a video sketch, which consisted of two scenarios which are normally observed in a queue, to further understand their interactions which happen during the idle time in the queue.
In our final iterations, as a probe we prepared video sketches of two scenarios(description mentioned below) to make the people reflect on the scenarios and how would they react in such situations. We conducted this experiment in the context of organized groceries retail shops(that is supermarkets) and also in the unorganised shops to understand the same.
Case1: A female with a crying baby standing in a queue, and other members getting annoyed because of the baby.
Case 2: Annoyed members in a queue due to the overloaded cart of the person in the checkout.
New traits observed as unknown unknowns along with previous insights which are basically known unknowns.
Some of the important insights from our probes and observations are:
- Solidarity: Groups can be helpful in opposing any wrongful conduct.
- Empathy: Females are generally more empathizing than male.
- Ownership of Moral Responsibility: Females feels that it is their responsibility to be helpful in situations less favouring for them.
- Patience: Males are generally impatient while being in a long queue and would rather leave a queue if they find it too long or with insufficient checkout counters.
- Advantage: Generally people would consider giving their own places to women having babies and also for the case 1 and for case 2 some people negotiate with the person in front of them to take up their place whenever they feel its necessary.
- Preparedness: Some women with kids would plan their visit to long queues to avoid inconvenience.
Learnings from the experiment (What worked, what didn’t work)
- In this experiment, we considered real-time scenarios through video sketch, to make people speculate on them, but video sketches could also be speculative, therefore we explored and brainstormed different speculative ideas to intervene in the next experiment.
- Through this, we were able to observe further traits which we have classified as unknown unknowns such as empathy, patience, ownership and preparedness.
- We observed that video sketches as probes gave us more flexibility to create different scenarios, and also for the customers to answer questions more open-ended and reflectively.
EXPERIMENT: SPECULATIVE CONCEPT VIDEO
Reflecting on the previous experiment, we realised that taking examples from the real-life scenarios, was not helping them imagine an alternative or a different way of interactions while standing in a queue. So, we thought of an experiment using a speculative video probe to make them imagine such interactions and also to possibly reflect on the interactions and experiences which might alter or enhance because of it.
As an artefact, we used a one-minute speculative video sketch which shows a speculative AI based, digital virtual assistant, called ‘Queue Buddy’ which could enhance the experience of people while standing in a queue. In the video, we suggested two features that the Queue Buddy could have — to entertain the customer and to save the customer’s place if they leave the line for some time. We expected people to reflect on what the Queue Buddy could do for them based on the past experiences they had while waiting in a queue.
On understanding the context of how video probe works, we decided on the narration to begin with an existing scenario and then introducing a speculative scene to make them imagine what could be the continuation of the scene in such a scenario based on their past experience of standing in the queue.
We decided to test this experiment in the context of organized groceries retail shops(that is supermarkets) to understand the same.
We started our experiment, by first asking their experiences(good or bad) while standing in a queue to people in queues and also others who were not in queues. As it was a video to be shown, we introduced this probe using mobile phones to reflect on their past experiences in a queue. Also, we asked them to imagine alternate feature which queue buddy could possess to enhance their queue experience.
Insights and reflections gathered from the experiment
From the speculative video, people gave us two kinds of insights- what all they would want the queue buddy to do for them and the stories that they recalled about their interactions and experiences in a queue. Here are some of the notable insights:
• People having kids wanted the Queue Buddy to entertain and engage their kids to combat disturbance.
• While kids may find it easy to talk to other kids in a queue, adults may have some kind of social anxiety and avoid interactions with other queue members, a Queue Buddy could help with such anxiety.
• People imagined queue buddy taking their place in queues so that they can attend a priority call or just because they would not have to stand in the long queues.
• Non-verbal communications, for example, commenting on one’s dress leading to an extended conversation and bonding of like-minded people.
• We also noted that most men we showed the video to, suggested ways to avoid standing in queues and suggested technological systems to avoid standing in the queue. However, most women we showed the video to gave suggestions about tech to enhance their experience while being in the queue.
• “This could work only in a first world scenario. Indians don’t form queues.”
Learnings from the experiment (What worked, what didn’t work)
- Video probing helped to set a context not only because it was easy to be introduced in the environment of study but also, it worked in terms of engagement as it narrated a story.
- People started suggesting what app or tech intervention could work in a queue (both in terms of technology and experiences).
- We got insights on their interaction, behaviour and aspired values and facilities to be gained from the queue.
- Some of the people were not able to imagine the concept of Queue Buddy, which led us to create successive iterations of the speculative video on Queue Buddy
- We could have shown them more features and scenarios of the features in use of the Queue Buddy which would have helped them to imagine and reflect more clearly.
CONCLUSION
We have gathered valuable insights into the behaviour of people in queues through three different experiments. A sharing coupon, real-life scenario video sketches and a speculative concept video are the various probes that we had introduced to people while they were standing in queues, mostly in an organised grocery retail setting. We observed that video sketches as probes gave us more flexibility to create different scenarios, and also for the customers to answer questions more open-endedly and reflectively as compared to the coupon sharing experiment, where we were inducing interactions and observing passively. The speculative video probe made them imagine and reflect on their past experiences of standing in a queue. This probe could be used in various other environments to gather and collect the behaviour and interactions too.
THE TEAM
Want to connect to take this research further or simply meet up for a cup of coffee? Feel free to mail us at:
Shreya Chopra: shreyachopra711@gmail.com
Jyotirmayee Das: jyotirmayee.das93@gmail.com
Harinie Ananth: harinieananth@gmail.com
