Tell me at distance it's my turn

Daniele Catalanotto
Apr 22, 2022


A Service Design principle about the waiting time

We are at the emergency service of the local children's hospital. Obviously, the waiting time in the emergency waiting room is gigantic. I get it. There are far worse situations than the one of my kid.

So we wait for four hours. During this time, I try to turn every possible piece of furniture into a game for my kid. That's when I remember how another service makes the waiting more bearable—a pizza place.

There is an Italian restaurant called Vapiano here in Lausanne, Switzerland. When you go and order a pizza, they give a buzzer. This device vibrates when your pizza is ready for you to come and get it at the counter.

An example of this buzzer system from fast food in Zurich Oerlikon. Photo by Joanna Bienz.

Okay... But why is this so inspiring?

With the same stupid pizza buzzer, I could go outside a few times during my 4 hours of wait. I could create a bit of a change of scenery for the baby. That makes the wait more bearable for him and me. It also makes the emergency waiting room a calmer place for all the others that are waiting. You know, less crying from bored babies helps.

The buzzer is smart for the service staff too. Staff members can just hit a button, and the next patient arrives within five minutes. And if the order of the waiting list has to change, no issue, nobody will notice.

When the waiting time is gigantic and isn't plannable, give people a way to know at a distance when it's their turn. And let them know how far they can go. One or five minutes away?


Little side notes

  • This is the second draft of this Service Design Principle.
  • I was able to reduce the lengths by 58.39% compared to the first version.
  • Once adapted, even more, this principle will be part of the book "Service Design Principles 201-300"
  • As always feel free to share comments, feedback or personal stories to improve this principle.
Like
Patrick Marcelissen
May 3, 2022
Nice, clear to read and the message is also clear by me. Great example. Enlightening the waiting on a touchpoint. 
Daniele Catalanotto
May 5, 2022
Thanks Patrick :) 
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 29, 2022

The third draft of this Service Design Principle

It’s four hours that we wait at the emergency service of the local children’s hospital. I get it. There are far worse situations than the one of my kid (1).

So I try to turn every piece of furniture into a game for my kid to make him forget his pain and boredom.

Exhausted, a weird taught comes to my mind: I need a buzzer. You know, like the ones you get when you order a pizza or burger. It vibrates when your meal is ready, so you don’t have to wait at the counter.

With such a buzzer at the hospital, I could go outside during my marathon-like wait. It would make the wait more bearable for my baby and me. It also would make the waiting room calmer, with fewer cries from a bored baby, for the other patients.

So let me ask.

How can you help people wait outside of your service?

Footnotes

(1) By the way, no worries, he is perfectly fine now. Thanks for asking. You’re a sweet human.

The first draft of this principle has been adapted into more understandable English by the lovely Joanna Bienz. Thanks, Joanna.

Daniele’s notes

  • This is the third draft of this principle.
  • I’ve reduced the length of this principle by 41 % compared to the previous draft.
  • I’ve added a conclusion question to help the reader turn this principle into action.