Psychology of Waiting – Do Distractions Work?
Waiting in line, on the phone, for the doctor, for your flight or in any other service delivery situation often leads to unhappy customers, increased costs and loss of business. Redesigning operations to minimize wait times can be costly and complex. One alternative that is commonly practiced is “pleasantly distract them” while they wait.
But does that really work?
A little evidence supporting the effectiveness of distractions was reported in, Distracted Customers Wait Times Fly:
“He wanted to know how we subjectively perceive waiting time. So 50 people in one group were asked to wait, with absolutely nothing to do. Another 50 were also asked to wait the same length of time—but they could watch TV. Then both groups were asked to estimate how much time had passed. The ones who watched television thought they waited on average only half as long as the ones with zip to keep them occupied. “
A 50% decrease from a pleasant distraction is a very powerful effect.
