Eighty-Four Percent Say Canadians Becoming Less Patient About Lining Up

Toronto, ON - According to a new Ipsos Reid survey conducted on behalf of NCR Canada, the majority of Canadians (84%) feel that "Canadians are becoming less patient about lining up" these days.

This finding is not surprising when considering the context of most Canadians increasing impatience: 62% of Canadians say they waste more than 30 minutes in a typical week lining up at retail stores, post offices banks, food outlets or many other places. When it comes to lining up, Canadians find it most frustrating that there is a "lack of staff to assist you" (87%) or that they're "wasting time" (86%).

So, where are the worst line-ups according to Canadians? It's a tie at the top between "registering at a clinic or hospital" (70%) or "at the checkout in retail stores" (69%).

Most Canadians would like to see organizations "employ staff" (94%) in order to reduce lineups and line frustrations. Eighty-two percent suggest that organizations "offer self-service technology" in order to shorten queues.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid/NCR poll conducted from January 4-8th, 2007. For the survey, a representative sample of 1336 adult Canadians were interviewed via an on-line survey vehicle. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 2.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

• Residents in Quebec are the most likely to say line-up problems are the worst when registering at a clinic or hospital (89%), while those in British Columbia (58%) are the least likely to say this.
• British Columbians are the most likely to say the "post office" (41%) is where they encounter the worst line up problems, while those in Ontario (20%) are the least likely to say this.
• Those with kids are significantly more likely than those without kids to point to "ordering fast food" when it comes to the worst line-ups (45% vs. 37%).

• No substantial demographic variances of opinion are evident.

Eighty-four Percent Of Canadians Agree That Canadians Are Becoming Less Patient About Line-ups...

Eighty-four percent agree that "Canadians are becoming less patient about lining up" - 16% don't feel this way.

• No substantial demographic variances of opinion are evident.

• Those in Quebec (55%) are the least likely to have walked away because of the wait time in a line-up, while those in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (86%), British Columbia (85%) and Alberta (8%) are the most likely to have.
• Four in ten (39%) in Quebec claim to have "got a date" while waiting in line.

• Residents of Quebec (73%) are most in favour of creating "a cordoned off area for a single line up", while those in Alberta (51%) are the least likely to feel this way.
• Ontarians are the most likely to support the offering "self service technology" (88%), followed by Albertans (86%), Atlantic Canadians (80%), British Columbians (79%), residents of Quebec (75%), and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (73%).

• Residents of Quebec (41%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (41%) are the most likely to consider ABMs to be the best line-up buster invention, while those in Alberta (30%) are the least likely to feel this way.
• Albertans (28%) and Ontarians (26%) are the most likely to point to "self-checkout" as the best line-up buster invention.

Those with kids are the most likely to say "yes" to this question (59% vs. 53% among those without kids.).

About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

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