Academic comments on why we do not challenge queue jumpers
Dr Zsuzsanna Vargha (pictured) from the School of Management has been quoted in the national media on Britain's unique attitude to queuing - including why we do not challenge queue jumpers.
In an article for the Times Dr Vargha, lecturer in accounting and organisation, said: “How people decide what is fair is societal, and we produce this understanding of fairness with our small actions such as queuing every day.
"Queue jumping violates an understanding of equitable access. People are monitoring potential queue jumpers and even if they are not preventing or calling out the queue jumpers, they are deploying various ways to account for their behaviour.
"We as social beings are very reluctant to allow a social situation to break down, and this is why people do not challenge queue jumpers."
New research by Tensator, a queue management specialists company, has explained the rules of queuing that most Brits abide by. The research found that two essential rules of queuing in Britain are to not make small talk with those standing with you and to never complain or make a scene, regardless of queue-jumping.
The research also found that 97 per cent of Brits would never dare break the first rule of starting up a conversation, while eight in ten said they passed time by criticising other queue members.