SWNSThere is one thing and one thing alone guaranteed to boil the blood of a Brit, and that is poor queuing etiquette.
Last year I was waiting at a taxi rank when a ne’er-do-well barged past me, offering me the middle finger as she threw herself in the back of my cab. Mine.
Needless to say, I still cannot recall the incident without feeling a peculiar sensation of rage. The audacity! The complete disregard for the awkwardness and deep seated shame which keeps this country ticking over!
Unfortunately, it seems queues throughout the UK are riddled with underhand queue-jumping techniques. The end times are nigh…
SWNSSneaky techniques such as the ‘chat and cut’ and ‘sorry, sorry, sorry’ are just some the ways queue jumpers dupe their oblivious fellow queuers.
New research from TripAdvisor found over one in four have admitted to hopping in front using the old ‘open invitation’ method.
This is where a gap opens up and you can plead innocence, pretending you thought this was the back of the line. Although you knew in your heart it definitely wasn’t.
SWNSOthers use the ‘chat and cut’ technique, where they spy someone already in the queue to spark up a conversation with before staying at that same spot.
Feigning lateness to persuade others to let then in first and apologising in a flustered manner are also popular tactics.
Some even admitted to blagging their way to the front by pretending to have a quick question to ask a staff member. That old chestnut!
Check out YouTuber Zac Alsop attempts at queue jumping while undercover at some of the UK’s busiest tourist attractions:
TripAdvisor also discovered how the good old fashioned British pass-time of queuing is in steep decline among the nation’s youngsters.
Generation Z (18-24 year-olds) do not share the same reverence for queuing as previous generations. Indeed, they are over twice as likely to shove in front in a queue than fuddy-duddy Baby Boomers.
Over two thirds of Baby Boomers described queue jumping as an appalling show of bad manners. However, only 28 per cent of Gen Z saw the faux pas in this light.
Baby Boomers are also two times more likely (31%) to challenge a queue jumping scallywag than they would be to just grin and bear it.
Gen Z on the other hand would be far less bothered, with only a quarter prepared to get into a confrontation over their queuing position rights.
SWNSTripAdvisor spokesperson, Hayley Coleman, advised:
The British love of queuing is a cliché we all know, but in truth most of us hate being stuck in a queue – yet we spend two to three days a year waiting in line.
So, if you want to save time and skip a queue this summer, the message is simple: book online, and in advance.
This is easier to do than many people think – TripAdvisor has more than 100,000 experiences, tours and activities available to book online – and you’ll even avoid the wrath of the dreaded hard stare from your fellow queuers.
SWNSHowever, it has to be said you are much less likely to get away with queue jumping during the thick of tourism season, with fellow queuers feeling particularly hot, cross and raring for a moan.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.