Say goodbye to queues
RESEARCH out this week suggests two in five people in the UK reach breaking point after queuing for only two minutes. Fiona Duffy discovers how we can avoid waiting around.
AIRPORT
Online check-in allows you to print boarding passes and head straight for departures. Some airports offer check-in the evening before.
Passengers with easyJet can opt for speedy boarding (from £2.50 to £7.50) which calls them to the front.
Zip through immigration on your return by registering with Iris (iris recognition immigration system). For details contact the UK Border Agency (ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk).
DOCTOR/DENTIST
“Take the first appointment of the morning or afternoon clinic,” says organisational expert Jamie Novak, author of 1,000 Best Quick And Easy Time-Saving Strategies.
“Schedules fall behind. Ask for forms that need completing to be posted to you beforehand and phone just before you leave to check they are running on time.”
BANK
“Banks are busiest during lunchtimes, particularly on the Friday prior to bank holidays and just before closing time,” says the British Bankers’ Association.
The quietest time is a Wednesday afternoon which is a hangover from the days of half-day closing.
CALL CENTRES
“Many call centres operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week but customers still follow patterns,” says Moira Neil, a customer services manager. “Our busiest times are 8am to 10am on summer weekdays. We’re also busy on Saturdays from 10am until 1pm then late afternoon onwards. On Sunday our busiest times are 10am until midday, then again from 7pm.”
CASHPOINTS
More cash is withdrawn on a Friday than any other day with queues peaking between 12pm and 1pm, says Sandra Quinn from Link, the UK’s cash machine network.
Visit on a Sunday or ask for cashback at the supermarket.
POST OFFICE
“Avoid lunch hours and seek out sub-post offices tucked away in the back of shops,” says money expert Jasmine Birtles.
Check if branches have extended openings at postoffice.co.uk or use self-service machines. Buy stamps from stores such as Superdrug.
THEME PARKS
Weekends, school holidays and end-of-term trips are busiest. Visit early in the year or put off until later.
Thorpe Park has an iPhone app with live queue times. Pre-book to skip queues, download maps and go to popular rides first, says lifestyle manager Sue Reeve. “Your best chance of shorter queues is in the first 90 minutes of opening.”
Many visitors head home around 4pm which means smaller queues. Some parks sell fast-track upgrades or have shorter single-rider queues if you don’t mind to whom you sit beside.
LADIES’ LOOS
“Try another part of the building,” says Laurence Young, of Eventworld (eventworld.co.uk), the corporate event organiser. “You’ll often find a staff loo on a different floor.
“Hotel loos are always empty so if there’s one next door nip in.”
Try the “my friend’s going to be sick” ruse or invade the men’s loos, which are always quieter, with pals.
RESTAURANTS
Beat the rush by going earlier than everyone else. Opt for 12pm rather than 1pm or straight from work. Lots of restaurants offer special deals if you eat before 6pm.
Skip the chat and browse the menu as soon as you sit down so you can order with your drinks.
COFFEE SHOPS
“Busiest times are morning rush hour and lunchtime,” says Costa’s Melissa Mace. “Between 7am and 9am retail park coffee shops are relatively quiet whereas those near stations will be busy.”
Station branches are quietest at lunch so go between 11am and 2pm while those in shopping centres are quiet from 5.30pm onwards.
PETROL STATIONS
“Avoid rush hours and weekend mornings,” says Texaco’s Ruth Kent. The quietest times tend to be Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday between 10am and 4pm and from midnight to 5am at 24-hour sites.
SUPERMARKETS
“Saturday is still the busiest day overall but hour by hour Sunday is more intense,” says Richard Dodd, of the British Retail Consortium. Shop between 2pm and 4pm on Wednesday: the furthest time from the weekend. Shoppers visit Thursdays and Fridays for the weekend and restock on Mondays and Tuesdays.
TRAFFIC JAMS
Many car radios are fitted with RDS (radio data systems) which carry local radio reports. Log on to bbc.co.uk/travelnews and try to carry a passenger to use “plus two” lanes (2carshare.liftshare.com).
