Don’t panic Mr Mainwaring: Britons urged to embrace the art of the queue

Press Release

Don’t panic Mr Mainwaring: Britons urged to embrace the art of the queue

Leading queue management specialist, Tensator is urging Britain’s travel and leisure industry not to panic over the extensive queues anticipated this summer at transport hubs and attractions across the UK, as the hot weather and Olympic warm up takes hold.

With an estimated 138,000 people due to pass through Heathrow Airport on each of its busiest two days this summer, up to 800,000 daily passengers travelling on public transport to and from the Olympic stadium and hundreds of UK tourist attractions set to see heightened visitor numbers, long queues are inevitable across the country.

As preparations continue for this summer’s other high profile events including Wimbledon, concerns over crowd control are growing among the travel, leisure and retail sectors. Tensator is encouraging British businesses to reject the panic and embrace the art of queuing – a very British trait –, focusing on making lines as efficient, informative and entertaining as possible.

Jo Coxhill, group head of commercial operations at Tensator, advises: “Locations expecting large numbers of visitors this summer should be planning ahead to ensure that negative queuing experiences don’t become the main focus of what should be a great British summer. Whilst major adaptations to facilities can be costly, at a time when many budgets are tight, improvements to queuing systems can be made for a relatively low investment and reap significant rewards.

“By increasing signage and information provision, facilities facing high visitor footfall can ease the queuing process, making it easy for visitors to find where they need to be. Providing regular and valuable updates, such as travel details, can also help to turn the queue into an efficient, informative environment and reduce visitor stress.

“By creating an entertaining in-queue environment, organisations can significantly reduce frustration and encourage visitors to wait patiently for longer. Solutions such as InQ-tv and digital signage offer adaptable entertainment platforms, as well as tools for information provision. Organisations could point queuers to their websites or other entertaining online content, which could be accessed via smartphones.”

Whilst long queues can be frustrating, Tensator is encouraging organisations to consider the perceived as well as actual waiting time.

“Adopting a single line queue with multiple service points can also improve fairness, reduce frustration amongst those waiting and improve efficiency. Preventing queues this summer may not be possible but making them as efficient and entertaining as possible certainly is. In Britain, queuing is an art form, so let’s show the world how it’s done.”

Tensator has worked with a number of major UK attractions and transport hubs to improve queuing facilities, including the London Eye, Madame Tussauds, Thorpe Park, Wembley Stadium, Heathrow Airport, London Underground and the DLR.

For more information on Tensator and its queue management solutions, please visit www.tensator.com.

About Tensator

Tensator is a recognised leader in Queue Management solutions, offering a wide range of electronic call forward systems; dispersed virtual queuing technology; digital media platforms including the Tensator Virtual Assistant; in-queue merchandising; crowd and access control solutions; and Tensabarrier products – the most respected barrier in the world.

Tensator empowers blue chip retailers, international airport terminals, transport providers, financial institutions, major exhibition, leisure and entertainment venues, construction sites, restaurants and hotels to speed customer flow through the queue – improving operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Tensator helps eliminate lost revenues through walk-aways and drives high value impulse sales with its range of queue management solutions.