Queues - are consumers treated with respect?

In this little piece I shall not name any specific outlets/organisations because I want to focus on the kind of treatment we accept as consumers. This week a particular aspect of queues seemed rather conspicuous in my travels.

In a given situation consumers' levels of tolerance vary. From time to time we have long queues of consumers outside various outlets where there may be a special sale or offer.

As I walked past one of these queues, out of curiosity, I engaged some of the people queuing in conversation and asked them why they were queuing, particularly while bearing in mind that, in the shop, it did not seem that busy.

There was a sale on. In any case a staff member in the shop asked me whether I had a problem. Shortly afterwards, the manager came too and we started talking. I pointed out the not so busy shop inside. I asked why customers were subjected to 'queuing'. My second question was whether it was for his convenience.

His reply was simply: "You caught me at a bad moment", whereupon more queuing customers were allowed in the shop.

At this point I stress that what I want to focus on is our attitude as consumers rather than that of traders. Why do we accept such treatment? When are we going to embrace/absorb the concept that in the market place it is the consumer who is king.

Ironically, on the same day, I went to a bank to cash a cheque. There was only one cash point operating and I was third in the queue, which was moving relatively quickly.

However the person in front of me had a time-consuming transaction and within ten minutes there were about 12 customers behind me. I seemed to be the only person concerned about the situation and there was no sign of any vibes from any customer in the queue.

Subsequently, I went to the main counter to highlight the situation to a staff member. I politely suggested that they open a second point and they duly opened another point.

On my way out a gentleman in the queue thanked me for having asked for another point to be opened. Fair enough, but the point I want to drive home is that as customers we have rights and we ought to maximise on them.

We must be assertive - not aggressive. We must maximise on the simple fact that we are paying for whatever product or service we buy and, as the old saying goes, the pay master calls the shots.