Guests often spend longer in the queue than in the activation. A good queue feels short, fair and well run. A bad one is the thing they post about.
Thirty separate queues
At the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival, every one of the 30 experiences had its own line. Each was capped at 240 people, with timed return tickets once it was full. We put a host at the front and a marshal at the back of every single one.
- 30separate queues
- 240people per queue, max
- 2staff on every queue
A cap gives staff a clear rule to follow. Once the line hits 240, the marshal at the back stops it and hands out a return time. Nobody has to make a judgement call, and nobody spends an hour queuing for something they will never reach.
Put staff at the back of the queue, where people have the most questions.
Staff the back as well as the front
The front of the queue looks after itself: people can see the experience and they know they’re nearly there. The back is where people want to know how long the wait is and where the toilets are. Put someone there who can answer, honestly. A rough wait time, given with confidence, keeps people in line far better than a guess.
Decide who closes it, in advance
Staff should all give the same answer, so agree before the doors open who decides when a queue closes, how the team says it, and what fans get instead: a return time, a different experience, a later session.
A ghost sheet and a countdown to 5pm built a queue before anyone knew what was inside.
Uber Eats, King’s Cross. Photo: Sam Lane Photography for SpaceandPeople.
Build the queue before the reveal
For Uber Eats’ Halloween activation outside King’s Cross, a giant takeaway bag sat under a ghost sheet with a countdown to 5pm. Our brand ambassadors sent passers-by to the countdown, so there was a queue before anyone knew what was inside. Then they ran it: waivers and a health and safety form for every guest, a safety briefing at the door, and no more than three people in the bag at a time.
Safety rules belong in the queue, not at the door. By the time guests reached the front, they knew the rules and had signed for them.
Keep people informed during the wait
People in a queue have time to talk. At MCM London Comic Con our survey team works the crowd waiting for the gates to go up at 10am, because it’s the one time fans are standing still. At Wimbledon, smart-glasses demo teams worked the famous queue itself. If you need sign-ups, surveys or sampling, the queue is the best place you’ll find.
Checklist
- One queue per experience, each with a cap
- Staff at the back of the queue as well as the front
- One person who decides when a queue closes
- Safety rules explained in the queue, not at the door
- Something useful or fun for people waiting
Common questions
Why cap a queue?
A cap turns an argument into a rule. At the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival every one of 30 experiences had its own queue, capped at 240, with two staff on each.
Where should safety rules be explained?
In the queue. By the time guests reach the front they should already know the rules.
Who should close a queue?
Agree it before the doors open, so two staff never give two different answers.
Send us the capacity and the run time and we’ll plan the queue with you.
