“Hurry Up And Wait?”

We have all heard this phrase and most of the time it is associated with the military. In fact it is the standard line in many movies that deal with the military of most time periods. It also has become a comedy line in these movies to show how slow the military can become.

The truth is that the entire world is based on this procedure. No matter where you go you are faced with the fact that you are expected to be someplace at a specific time. That you know that it does not matter if you come early because you will wait beyond that time you were told to be at the location to receive the service that they are being paid to provide to you. It does not matter if you are paying or if some other source is paying for that service. Insurance only means that the source of payment has changed. It means that the provider is guaranteed payment and not that there is a change in the way the service is provided.

Some of the places we normally see this situation and the way I feel while I’m sitting and waiting:

1) DMV – The Department of Motor Vehicles. They always have the excuses ready. That they don’t have enough people or too may patrons. The fact is that some employees don’t care. That puts the pressure on the rest of the people to do the work and you can tell by the way they react to the clients.

2) Doctor – Dentist. It seems that some of these professionals feel that their time is worth much more than that of the patients. It is possible that a patient with a more complex situation will delay the ability to serve subsequent clients. In fact if a professional is constantly late it should be obvious that the person needs to schedule more time to see each patient so that the ones later in the day will not automatically start later then they are scheduled.

3) Airport.

a. Ticket Line. You know that you don’t have baggage to check and even the self-serve kiosks are slow. Check in on your computer does help but many people won’t or can’t do it.
b. TSA – Transportation Security Agency. Always under a lot of pressure because the airlines want the people out quickly so that they are ready to board (see boarding area)
c. Boarding Area. After the TSA wait the people are irritated and putting their clothing back together while impatient to get on with their flight.

4) Lines. No matter where you are there is a line. Some places do things that try to make you feel that the line is shorter. The fact is that no matter what the line looks like it is time that is wasted. Even at the best places we would rather be doing something and not standing in line.

What can we do in these situations?

The truth is that we don’t have many options because the places know what is happening and the people who work we talk to really don’t have much power to change things.

1) Complain to the person causing the delay? Won’t do much good they will usually only make an excuse.
2) Complain to a manager? Maybe it will help but not likely. If the situation is possible they might give you a price reduction or some added service but not often. I was in a small restaurant in New Orleans when the manager/bartender came over to apologize that the kitchen had lost our order. He comped our beverages and followed up to get our food to us. It took a while but he worked with the waitress and staff to get it fixed.

What can I do to eliminate the situation?

Not much but sometimes all you can do is to make yourself feel better. Bring a book or some puzzles to do to fill that wait time with something that will be productive. Easy to do in a doctor’s office but more difficult while waiting in line in an amusement park. Sometimes I achieve more reading or working the puzzle then from the doctor.