# The people waiting in the flesh have priority **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 13, 2014, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-waiting-in-the-flesh-have-priority/701229 "2014-10-13T19:00:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-waiting-in-the-flesh-have-priority/701229/41 "2014-10-14T16:23:56Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > Why are you buying gas … at Chipotle? > > Maybe you, sir, are the problem. > > Sorry, I’ll just sit over here… I thought _everyone_ got gas at Chipotle. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-waiting-in-the-flesh-have-priority/701229/42 "2014-10-14T16:31:31Z")
> [@TheChileanBlob](#): > > I’m with you. Fuck those guys, and also fuck the assholes that buy lottery tickets. They need a separate line for those motherfuckers, I just wanna pay for my gas. And fuck Kim Jong Un for that douchey haircut. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-waiting-in-the-flesh-have-priority/701229/43 "2014-10-14T16:36:04Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > And fuck Kim Jong Un for that douchey haircut. You can fuck him if you want. I’d much rather not. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-waiting-in-the-flesh-have-priority/701229/44 "2014-10-14T16:36:59Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > What pisses me off is when I walk into the dunkin donuts and there is no one at the drive thru when I get up, but suddenly, someone pulls up, and \*that[/] person gets priority. WHY? I was here first! Because the drive thru has a sensor that marks when a car pulls up to order and how long it takes the car to exit the drive thru which makes for lots of nice objective numbers on wait times for a store to get slammed on if they don’t prioritize the drive thru. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-waiting-in-the-flesh-have-priority/701229/45 "2014-10-14T16:39:14Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > You would think that modern technology would have developed better ways to synchronize queueing between on-site and remote customers. > > Why can’t callers during busy periods just get a recorded message that says _“Thank you for calling Bob’s Diner, there are currently [N] customers waiting in front of you, we will be happy to take your order when your call gets to the front of the line, so please hold.”_? > > The value of N would include both people waiting on-site and other calls on hold. When an order is taken or aborted (i.e., if an on-site customer walks away or a caller gets tired of waiting and hangs up), the recorded message could update: _“There are now [N-1] customers waiting in front of you. Please continue to hold.”_ > > Yeah, phone customers wouldn’t like waiting, but neither do on-site customers, so it seems only fair to have everybody wait their turn till the people who got there before them are taken care of. And it’s not like we don’t have the technology to manage that. The one thing people have not mentioned so far, however: many businesses do not have toll-free numbers. I think the reason people often give the phone priority is because the callers might be paying by the minute for the call, even when on hold. Not everyone has an unlimited calling plan. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-waiting-in-the-flesh-have-priority/701229/46 "2014-10-14T16:55:30Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > What pisses me off is when I walk into the dunkin donuts and there is no one at the drive thru when I get up, but suddenly, someone pulls up, and \*that[/] person gets priority. WHY? I was here first! Random trivia: In Massachusetts, there is one Dunkin’ Donuts for every 5000 citizens. I was out there for the first time this summer. I think in the area I visited, it must have been more like 1/3,500. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-waiting-in-the-flesh-have-priority/701229/47 "2014-10-14T17:07:56Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > The one thing people have not mentioned so far, however: many businesses do not have toll-free numbers. I think the reason people often give the phone priority is because the callers might be paying by the minute for the call, even when on hold. Not everyone has an unlimited calling plan. I would truly doubt that any business gives the phone call priority over a customer in line because they think the person on the phone might be paying, per minute, for the local phone call. To be clear, I think phone calls get priority, just not for that reason. Many times I’ve said to another employee ‘hurry up, that person’s been on hold for a while’, but never added on ‘and they’re racking up charges on their phone bill’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-waiting-in-the-flesh-have-priority/701229.md?page=2)