Singapore's Culture of Queuing
One of the things that Singaporeans are famous for is queueing. It has became one of our national identity and culture.
One of the things that Singaporeans are famous for is queueing. It has became one of our national identity and culture.
Find out which category is the most popular in Singapore's Queuing History.
Find out some of the most bizzare items Singaporeans had queued for in Singapore's Queuing History.
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In 2016, when the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus were launched in Singapore. iPhone fans had queued up to be one of the first to own the smartphones
Despite the heavy and unhealthy haze, many queued overnight outdoors for 20 hours before the launch of the new phones.
Similarly in 2017, the debut of iPhone X have hundreds of iPhone fans gathered outside the Apple store along Orchard Road a day ahead of it's official launch in Singapore.
In 2019, as part of the Singapore's 54th National Day's Promotions, the Y6 Pro 2019 smartphone are sold at a promotional price of $54, attracting large crowds, with queues formed as early as 4am and stocks ran out before the stores even opened.
However, it caused disppoinment and outrage when only 20 - 30 units were allocated to each outlets, people who had queued for hours, took a day off, ended up with nothing.
In 2000, tens of thousands queued outside of MacDonald to get their hands on the Hello Kitty character doll.
However, the craze has gotten out of hand when a Doctor and a Lorry Driver engage in a violent fight over the dolls.
Few days after the accident, seven people were injured outside a McDonald's outlet in Boon Keng as the queue got overly frantic and results in a glass door being shattered.
SCDF also recieved class of people fainting and fighting in queues.
The craze has results in traffic disruptions and unnessary food wastes and trash.
In 2013 and 2014, the Hello Kitty craze returned once again.
Not just long queues, there are disappointed fans, hoarders, scalpers and disputes.
At Bukit Batok Central's McDonald, a dispute started after a man complained about people jumping queues.
In 2013, outside of TANGS Orchard, many queued up as they awaits for the opening of Krispy Kreme. Similarly, when Pablo and Hokkaido's Bake Cheese Tarts launched in Singapore, fans all queued to take home some of these Japanese tarts.
In 2013, when the Michelin starred dim-sum chain Tim Ho Wan finally came to Singapore, it caused long, long queues every day.
In 2017, outside the Gong Cha Singapore outlet at SingPost Centre, fans of Gong Cha queued overnight after its return to Singapore. Waiting and queuing up to 14 hours.
Also in December 2017, the new Paya Lebar outlet encountered long queues just because Gong Cha is giving away 99 free cups.
In 2015, the lauch of Balmain x H&M collection has roughly 200 queued outside of H&M Orchard Building 2 hours ahead of its launch.
In 2020, large crowds were observed outside of IKEA on a Sataurday during an COVID-19 epidemic.
During start of the epidemic, panic buying has leads to long checkout queues at Supermarket.
There were also long queues in many other places in Singapore following the start of Phrase 2 of the circuit breaker measures. The crowds and strain on social distancing may bring about another cluster of COVID-19 cases.
Black Friday is when retail prices are slashed down, riling up the Singaporeans' spirits.
In 2017, retailer Robinson's gathered long queues of customers.
The release of the commerative SG50 notes had queues forming as early as 6am.
Move the slider to read through the Guide to Queuing Etiquette.
You are not the only person in the queue.
It is equally annoying to wait.
Be polite. You don’t like to be disturbed by other people waiting in line next to you, so why bother others? Don't talk too loud while waiting in line.
Invading other people's space won't make the queue faster.
Be mindful and leave a comfortable amount of gap of 8-16 inches between you and them.
Especially during special period such as an epidemic, be mindful of safe distancing.
Stand as close unto others as you would have like them to stand unto you.
Line jumping, queue jumping or butting can almost be called a social taboo.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Average queue-standers are 54% likely to object to someone butting in.
Taking out your frustration on other people is not the way to go about it.
Ask yourself this: would you have liked to get shouted at?
Be patient about it. Inform the person responsible for queuing about your issue, and see if they can do something about it.
If you're standing in a grocery line and the person behind you seems to need it more, offer to trade places.
Older people, pregnant women, women with young children and disabled people are not fit enough to queue for too long.
This simple act of kindness will not cost alot, so offer your place to someone else who needs it more.