No queues, no hassle

The first city was founded around 4 000 years b.c. As the word city can be defined as ”an area with enough people to form lines”, we can estimate the concept of queuing to be of roughly the same age, 6 000 years old.

The length and formation of lines can generally be managed by adjusting supply and demand. There are lines we can’t avoid, like the line to the late-night kebab place at 3 a.m. but there are lines we could shorten too. Like the queues to the cinema. Everyone arrives at last minute, either to buy or redeem reserved tickets, resulting in a queue.

How would I change this? I would like to get a simple web address included in movie posters and advertisements. With my mobile phone, I would enter the site, identify myself and reserve the needed number of best seats available. Later, when the actual sale of tickets starts, I would get a confirmation message about the tickets to my mobile phone. Then I could discard, reserve or buy the tickets, again directly with my mobile phone.

My calendar has a tendency to change. Therefore, I like to reserve tickets in advance, but leave the buying to the last minute. Nowadays, when I arrive to theater at the last minute, I have to queue to the counter and then dash sweating to my seat. One of the counters should be an express counter, which would just print out tickets I already bought on my way to theater, using my mobile phone. A non-printed mobile-ticket would of course be even better.

I could even accept ads of movies to my cell phone, but not just anything. I’d be happy to get notified of the new works of Pedro Almodovar or Quentin Tarantino, whereas ads of latest Dan Brown or Harry Potter screenplays fall into the other end of the spectrum.

Location-based advertising has been planned and pondered for a long time. Most of the scenarios have run into the same problem over and over again - how to get the permission to send the ads to the recipients. Few people wish to be bombarded with ads every time they are visiting downtown.

I’d be willing to accept current offers to my mobile phone for a certain period of time, for example for two hours, when I know where I’ll be and that I’ll have time to shop. When I´m going to movies and have a half an hour or fifteen minutes before the show, I´m not interested in strolling around looking for something interesting. However, I could visit one or two boutiques on the way, if I knew there’s something interesting for me. Anything that helps me avoid queues and get the right information at the right time is highly appreciated.