Offer many tiny distractions

Daniele Catalanotto
Apr 8, 2022
A Service Design principle to improve the waiting time.

We are at Gatwick Airport with my wife and our little one-year-old. We have to wait. Fortunately, Gatwick airport knows how painful it can be to wait for hours with a kid. That’s why the airport has a playground. And there is something special in it!


It hasn’t just one or two big playful elements. But it’s made of a few dozens of small games. So my kid doesn’t get bored after 10 minutes. Because every 10 minutes, he changes the game.

Even the best thing you can build to help people go through the waiting time will get boring after 10-15 minutes.

When people have to wait for hours offers many small distractions so that they can often change the way they are waiting and passing the time.

To test your waiting experience, you can do some math with this idea. Divide the longest waiting time by the number of distractions you offer. The smaller the number of minutes is, the faster the waiting time will feel for the user.

Little side notes

  • This is the second draft of this Service Design Principle.
  • I was able to reduce the lengths by 28.74% 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 4, 2022
Clear to read. Yes create micro touch points in the waiting zone. I would add the visual equation at the end.
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Daniele Catalanotto
Jun 4, 2022
Oh thanks! Indeed would add a little nerdy side to the principle :) Thanks for the effort in helping me understand it :) 
Patrick Marcelissen
May 4, 2022
I would add “ for inspiration adding distractions think about which (a)information need and (b) job to be done from the customer and (c) how can the customer ultimately prepare themselves to the next step in their journey of their experience.
Ravid Aloni
Oct 18, 2022
Could we apply it to Restaurants, that give small apéritifs, on the house, until the main dish comes? 
Deleted
Oct 29, 2022
I was standing in an hour long queue for a Covid shot today and noted that the line snaked around so you couldn’t see how long it was. “Just like at Disneyland,” I said to the guy behind. “Yes, but there’s nothing to look at here!”
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 29, 2022

The third draft of this Service Design Principle

It can be pretty painful to wait for hours with a kid in an airport. Fortunately, as we are at Gatwick airport with my wife and our little one-year-old, we find a playground. It’s special because the people who designed it understand something important. Even the best thing gets boring after 10 minutes (1).

They haven’t built just one or two big playful elements. Instead, the playground has dozens of small games. So my kid changes game every 10 minutes and doesn’t get bored.

So let me ask you:

How many tiny experiences should you offer during the wait time in your service to make it feel shorter? (2)

Footnote

(1) Humans get used to the good stuff and don’t find it as good over time! That's what psychologists call hedonic adaptation or hedonic treadmill — Hedonic treadmill. Wikipedia. Available at https://extra.swissinnovation.academy/aou2 accessed 29 October 2022.

(2) To test your waiting experience, you can do some math with this idea. Divide the longest waiting time by the number of distractions you offer. The smaller the number of minutes is, the faster the waiting time will feel for the user.

Daniele’s notes

  • This is the third draft of this principle.
  • I’ve reduced the length of this principle by 36 % compared to the previous draft.
  • I’ve added a conclusion question to help the reader turn this principle into action.
  • Added a reference to the hedonic adaptation theory.