Why do people wait around in long lines?

Have you ever gone to McDonald's and seen that the line was all the way out the door? Did you notice that the person walking next to you went ahead and got in the line and just waited like nothing was happening?

Maybe they had their hands in their pockets. Maybe they were whistling. Maybe they were looking around just casually waiting for a line that was going to take about 20 minutes for some McDonald's food.

Pixabay

I don't get it. Why wait in line for 20 minutes at McDonald's when there's a Wendy's right next door that is completely empty?

I see this kind of thing happen everywhere though. People go to the dollar store on the night before Valentine's Day and expect to get out in a few minutes. They didn't plan ahead, so they have to wait in a really long line because they're going to buy their loved one something that cost $1.

Well if that's the case then I guess you get what you deserve.

Not for the dollar thing, but because they did not plan ahead.

If I get to the register at a grocery store and there's a really long line, but I spent an hour doing my shopping then I am going to wait because otherwise I've wasted that hour.

On the other hand, if I run into the grocery store to buy an apple and I find a very long line at the front....there's a good chance I'm just going to put the apple back and then leave.

Why would I wait for 20 or 30 minutes to buy an apple? That's the kind of thing that I don't really understand.

I went to my bank today because I had some extra money in my pocket that I wanted to deposit. Not extra money mind you, but money that I kind of needed to be in my account.

I was surprised to see an incredibly long line all the way out the door. These people were just totally content to wait in that line that actually looked like it could take as long as an hour.

I'm guessing a lot of these people got checks for Christmas that they were wanting to cash.

Maybe they are really desperate for money and they need to cash that check now rather than wait a few days for the line to go away. I don't know. It's also possible that they got paid and don't have direct deposit so they need to cash their paycheck.

This bank is usually really dead all the time though. I don't think I've ever seen a long line here, and I have to assume it has something to do with the holiday season.

If I see a really long line chances, are very good that I'm going to just leave so that I can do it at a shorter time. After all, time is money and I don't really have an entire hour to wait at the bank. I could be working during that hour after all. Or I can even just be enjoying myself.

Standing around at the bank, or at McDonald's, or in any line at the grocery store is certainly not a good time for me.

Would you stand in line if you knew it was going to take 30 minutes just to get some McDonald's or an apple or any other item?

Not me.