"**Indefinite waits seem longer than defined ones**, writes the business guru [[David Maister]] in his paper ‘The Psychology of Waiting Lines’, which is why [[Disney]] theme parks use complex formulae to calculate and display wait-times. ‘Pre-process’ waits seem longer than ‘in-process’ waits, which is why restaurants will seat you before they’re ready to serve you. Customers are happier when queues are acknowledged: **when a supermarket calls ‘all staff to the checkouts’, it’s as much about you hearing it as about staffing**. And occupied time passes faster than unoccupied time: mirrored walls are especially effective, apparently because most people love looking at themselves." --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]], [[alchemy]], [[counter-intuitive-thinking]], [[psycho-logic]] **Source** -- [[20241114100017 - B - Help!]]