Do You Even Queue Bro?!

GregRedd

GregRedd

New member
Starbucks opened their first South African store in Rosebank this morning. We could debate the merits of Starbucks coffee over others. Personally, having enjoyed a Venti or two in about 20 different places around the world, I'm a fan. It's not the greatest coffee I've ever had, nor the cheapest (although, to be fair, the Starbucks SA prices are actually pretty reasonable). But that's not why I've started this thread.

No, what I want to know is if you have ever voluntarily queued for something like this? A new store opening, a new movie release, tickets for a show, etc. If so, when and what was the occasion? Would you do it again? Or is there something that you would do this sort of thing for?

I ask, because despite being a fan of Starbucks, there's no way in hell I'd even consider joining a queue at midnight just to be amongst the first through the doors when the store opened at 7:30 this morning. Nor would I bother joining the queue that continued to form throughout the day (and which, according to Twitter, is still there as I type this now.) And this in Joziburg weather that is at it's most miserable today as well.

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The last time I queued like this was to get a decent spot in the General Standing section of the U2 360° concert at the FNB Stadium back in 2011. Joined the queue there about 9 hours before the gates opened, and was still way down the line.

So, do you even queue bro?
 
Crazyness

i remembered when burger king opened people queued for hours, i just dont get that to be honest.
 
I HATE queues! However, the only time i ever ended up in a big queue was buying tickets to see Linkin Park. I'm glad to say it was and will be the only time i ever do that again.
 
I stood in a long ass queue once at University because a buddy came to my place and told me they are handing out free Nike's at the Student Centre. So we scooted over there and stood in a really long damn queue.

Eventually got to the front and they were giving away crappy Converse shoes (I don't like them in general, but these were next level ugly). Never again.
 
No, what I want to know is if you have ever voluntarily queued for something like this? A new store opening, a new movie release, tickets for a show, etc. If so, when and what was the occasion?
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Kinda.

I grabbed one of the Vodacom birthday celebration deals. Didn't actually queue though...just showed up like 15 mins before the store opened. Think showing up on time would have done the trick too.

Thats about the max effort I'll go to to grab a deal.

Gotta weigh it against the value of the time. For many of these I'm better off staying an extra 10 mins at work & using that money to cover the diff of normal versus the "special" price.
 
I once considered early morning queuing. It was for that R4000 of WiiU thing that ToysRUs was having. Realized that I wouldn't be saving R4000, but rather wasting R1000 on a console I had no intention of ever using :p

I'd never queue for something as trivial as coffee though. Sure, I get that everyone wants a taste of America and Freedom, but personally I have no interest in Starbucks even if there was no queue.
 
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I do not queue - cannot understand why I would waste time like that when I can play NWN or Baldur's gate.

Although, I did consider queuing once for BT Games opening in Northgate - first 6 people or so could get an XBOX 360 with hdd blah blah blah for a R1000 or something stupid. It said that the deal will strictly only be valid from 8:00am. I rocked up at 7:00am to learn that all 6 (or however many) have already been handed out.
 
Home Affairs...if you don't rock up 30 minutes before they open, you wont even get inside the doors by 10am.
 
I have to say its not for me, I did it once for the launch of WoW Burning Crusade launch - but then I was in the UK at that time and it was a huge event. We stood in a queue for 5 hours, the line was 8 blocks long, lots of cos play and so forth - I went home at 10pm, looked at the ex and his mates and said fuck it.
 
Only times I've queued for long were to renew my driver's license or to vote in the general elections. Both times I queued at least 3 hours.
 
FarligOpptreden said:
Only times I've queued for long were to renew my driver's license or to vote in the general elections. Both times I queued at least 3 hours.
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Ja this is the only queu's i wil queu for... cannot understand the madness though. the starbucks is just up the road form me but i will probably not even try it as i hated their coffee when i went to the states in 2012. i much rather prefer Seattle's coffee though
 
I am starting to think we live in a different country.

mottamort said:
Home Affairs...if you don't rock up 30 minutes before they open, you wont even get inside the doors by 10am.
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Home affairs has a ticket queuing system and is quite efficient these days and they even have seating! If you don't have a ticket, you don't get served. Also you are forced to the back of the queue. This is not to say that you won't be in there for a while, but from past experiences it is way more efficient and streamline making the process feel much quicker.

FarligOpptreden said:
Only times I've queued for long were to renew my driver's license or to vote in the general elections. Both times I queued at least 3 hours.
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Going to the License department an hour before they close and it's practically empty. Although good luck finding assistance. As for general and provincial elections I waited about 15 minutes at the most.
 
Glordit said:
I am starting to think we live in a different country.
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The exception being you here. My last encounters with SA bureaucracy have been much like motta & Farlig.

Drivers...

First attempt: Show up early during workday morning...100+ queue standing outside. Join queue for like an hour...zero movement. Fk that...going home.

Second attempt...decided to drive to a remote centre...arrange to leave work early show up at like 15h30...got told they closed at 15h00 today already (no reason given).

Third attempt...take another days leave...drive to remote centre again...via township...witness a truck getting robbed while literally in motion like a western movie postal carriage...proceed to centre....queue for 3 hours (this time I brought a book, snacks and water). Complete application.

Proceed to emigrate without license. 2 months later get parentals to pick up the damn thing once ready.

Bonus attempt:
Try to get the license converted - overseas in places relevant to me:
country 1 - don't accept ZA licenses
country 2 - you move around too much. Stay put for 3 months.
country 3 - you don't have a perma residential address here.

tl;dr: I don't have a car
 
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HavocXphere said:
The exception being you here. My last encounters with SA bureaucracy have been much like motta & Farlig.

Drivers...

First attempt: Show up early during workday morning...100+ queue standing outside. Join queue for like an hour...zero movement. Fk that...going home.

Second attempt...decided to drive to a remote centre...arrange to leave work early show up at like 15h30...got told they closed at 15h00 today already (no reason given).

Third attempt...take another days leave...drive to remote centre again...via township...witness a truck getting robbed while literally in motion like a western movie postal carriage...proceed to centre....queue for 3 hours (this time I brought a book, snacks and water). Complete application.

Proceed to emigrate without license. 2 months later get parentals to pick up the damn thing once ready.

Bonus attempt:
Try to get the license converted - overseas in places relevant to me:
country 1 - don't accept ZA licenses
country 2 - you move around too much. Stay put for 3 months.
country 3 - you don't have a perma residential address here.

tl;dr: I don't have a car
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Truthfully we have lines as long as any other traffic department. As far as I can recall they always closed at 3 PM due to them working on a Saturday and not being paid over time, so they are compensated by working less hours in the week.
I always arrived at 2 PM and found it to be quite, or have really short queues. Perhaps it's because I reside in the Eastern Cape and find some of our departments to be less busy than Western Cape and Gauteng, due to the jumps in population size and density.
 
Glordit said:
Truthfully we have lines as long as any other traffic department. As far as I can recall they always closed at 3 PM due to them working on a Saturday and not being paid over time, so they are compensated by working less hours in the week.
I always arrived at 2 PM and found it to be quite, or have really short queues. Perhaps it's because I reside in the Eastern Cape and find some of our departments to be less busy than Western Cape and Gauteng, due to the jumps in population size and density.
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Well I tend to drive out to a remote center for drivers id passport etc. Apparently the jhb centers have gotten better though
 
If I have to queue for hours, I rather go eat / drink something else, waiting for hours just because of the hypes ain't worth it for me, go after a month and you have no queues :)
 
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