[rainbow_carnage]

Is it just me, or are people getting cheekier by the day?

I've been queuing for day tickets since the good ol' days of camping out in front of the Nederlander. Back then, there was usually some self-appointed queen who maintained basic order. Now it's like a free-for-all.

This morning at the Apollo, the back end of the queue tried to shove their way up to the newly-opened window. When confronted by all of the people standing in front of them, they made some feeble excuse to justify their behaviour. WTF? You didn't notice more than a dozen people who clearly got there before you? There's a limited number of tickets. What makes you think you deserve them over the people who'd been there since 8.30?

Last week at the Donmar, some girl went off to the shop for more than half an hour, then came back and reclaimed her spot in the queue. A few people tried to protest, but with no luck.

In both cases, I got tickets, so it didn't affect me directly. But other people didn't. And if I were them, I'd be more than a little annoyed.

If you want to pop into the cafe next door to get a coffee or to use the loo, fine. Even better if you offer to bring back coffee for others. But you cannot go off shopping and expect to return to the same spot in the queue. Otherwise everyone would get there early, drop off a bag, then go sit and have breakfast somewhere warm.

[The Suburbanite]

I don't have much experience of queueing for theatre day tickets or returns, but the few occasions I have it's been fine. The incidents you describe are infuriating. I was about to say the 'queue returner' one wasn't so bad, but in light of your remarks then yes a toilet or coffee break is one thing, a shopping trip is something else.

Most of my queuing experience has been for general admission rock concerts to get on the front barrier, and there have been times when I've actually ended up screaming in a person's face, on one occasion physically tussling with them, which was horrible and potentially bad news as I made the initial 'grab' so could've been ejected if he'd complained. That bloke pushed in then had the gall to insist he'd been waiting since 6.30am! I wouldn't normally grab people but boy oh boy did I get the red mist - a dense red fog, in fact.

When it's worked really well we've had people receiving queue numbers, sometimes even the co-operation of venue staff.

Pity to read of your experience but I'm glad you got the tix you wanted. And thanks for the tip-off - I shall be queueing for those very day seats myself in a few weeks so shall practise my best "Don't try it" stare.

I occasionally go to general admission plays and have never had any negative experiences. I like front row but people don't seem to make for there anyway.

[Weez]

Wow. I have a bit of a reputation for sleeping in the gutter outside theatres, and my traditional arrival time at the various theatres can best be described as "unnecessarily early", so I've spent more than a few hours dayseating, and I've never seen terrible queueing behaviour like that. O_O Sometimes the people in the queue end up sitting in random configurations that really don't match up to the order of arrival, but it's always come right once the doors have opened. And that really is the worst I've seen.

I would guess the best form of defence, if you're capable of stringing words together at that hour of the morning and not a total misanthrope, is to strike up conversation with anyone who's near enough. There is a certain camaraderie that only comes when likeminded souls pitch up to a theatre before sun-up, happy to spend more time queueing for a cheap ticket than they will spend in the theatre that evening. Even if half the people look at you like you've grown an extra head and refuse to be drawn into conversation, if you get that camaraderie with even only a couple of people, then it should be possible to get the queue in order when the doors finally open.

The trick is to rely on your natural Englishness. We know how queueing should be done. We're GOOD at it. If the queue goes awry, then don't fold your arms and tut. Speak up. If you have queue camaraderie, then you have a little back-up. It should be much harder to jump in front of several people saying "uh, NO" than one person saying "I don't think so" with a handful of others tutting quietly in the background. XD

But do let fellow queuers go for coffee and/or toilet breaks. Even my bladder of steel sometimes needs to duck out for a couple of minutes before the box office opens. XD

[Tintin]

I remember queuing for returns at the Paris Opera House and we had been waiting there for a couple of hours when some idiot walked in and boldly went to the front. The French, unlike the English, are not polite in such circumstances and the big guys in the queue didn't waste any time in showing him what was what and he made a very rapid dismissal, head cast downwards and tail between his legs. It was great and from that moment a real camaradarie started up among us. I have often heard the Parisians being criticised for their rudeness (something I have not come across myself), but here was a situation from which we could learn a lot about being assertive in such situations.

I also remember many years ago queuing for a long time for tickets to see Lauren Bacall in Applause. Suddenly a taxi drove up and a girl got out, went straight to the front of the queue and, at the box office, said "I have come to collect the tickets for Shirley Bassey". Maybe I should try that some time.

[Latecomer]

I love queues...I am always one of those people who shouts up when I see an injustice and reminds people of where the back of the queue is. Despite this I had a very unnerving experience in M&S the other day. I queued for the self service check-outs. Once it came to my turn I approached the checkout, put my shopping down and then realized I had no bag for the dreaded "bagging area" so I popped over to the person who hovers and checks you are all doing ok and asked for one, then popped back to my checkout. In the meantime a rude old lady (why do they think they can be rude just because they are old?) was about to arrive..... I tried to explain that I was next when she went off on a real rant about me pushing in! Even when I politely pointed out that my shopping was sitting there waiting for me she didn't apologise just swore and humphed off! I was quite shaken up. I hate those self-service tills at the best of times! They always fluster me! I was traumatized!
Queuing for buses does not exist anymore....it is now technically a rugby huddle for a bus!
My children get quite embarrassed when I try to organise queues...but I try to do it in a nice way, sort of "oh yes, you were here first weren't you, just before me" in a loud voice before pushing forward the person who has been there longest! It never ceases to amaze me how some people cheerfully swan to the front of the queue...I agree with Weez, strength in numbers!!!!

[Mark_E]

All i'll say is thank god most people who are in the lines for day seats are usually very nice and want exactly the same as you, an affordable ticket to see something they are passionate about. I was about to bust the other week in the Donmar day queue so it's always nice that you can ask people to hold your place. And big yay for the coffee shop just up the street.

I haven't lined up for many day seats really. Hairspray, Sister Act, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Red are the only ones i've went to before box office opening.

[Belle]

The trouble with bus queues is when you have multiple bus routes arriving at one stop - what is the correct etiquette? If most people are queueing for one bus and you're waiting for another, do you join the queue then leave it when your bus comes, pushing ahead? Do you gamble that others are not waiting for your bus and loiter separate from the queue? It's a nightmare!

I find the problem with day seats is, say it's a system where there's 24 seats available and there's a maximum of two per person. As long as you're no. 12 or less in the queue you've got your ticket. But then the 3rd person in the queue is joined by a half dozen friends just before the tickets go onsale - they're not just barging in, they're joining one friend, but they've been nowhere near the theatre for the past 2 hours!

[Matthew Winn]

The trouble with bus queues is when you have multiple bus routes arriving at one stop - what is the correct etiquette? If most people are queueing for one bus and you're waiting for another, do you join the queue then leave it when your bus comes, pushing ahead? Do you gamble that others are not waiting for your bus and loiter separate from the queue? It's a nightmare!

Back when I was regularly using buses people would stand around in a loose group, and when a bus arrived those who wanted it would sort of shuffle in the general direction of the bus while trying to keep from overtaking anyone or letting anyone overtake them. It worked, mostly.

[MrsDoyle]

Be handy if there was some sort of numbering like at the deli counter? Wouldn't be that hard to do would it?

[Weez]

I can't see that working hugely well. If you leave them outside the theatre, passing drunks will almost certainly scatter them to the four winds and scupper the system. And I really don't see the Donmar getting a member of staff in for 7am every day to monitor things. I think the best the theatres can do is put up signs instructing people how to queue, and if any of us see any queueing injustice, we need to speak up against it. And even then it won't necessarily work; they've got lovely signs at Waiting for Godot but it all went SO wrong on Sunday. XD