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A small journal where UX, code, and everyday life meet.

#ux clinic#menu visibility#decision pressure#café experience

Fast Queue, No Time to Choose

Story from the field

A small everyday moment that didn't feel quite right.

A small everyday moment that didn’t feel quite right.

At a popular coffee chain, I often find myself in the same small loop. While I’m waiting in line, there’s almost no way to actually read the menu.

There’s no handheld menu card. Nothing clear on the wall in front of the queue.

Sometimes there is a digital screen, but the menu is shown as a looping video that changes every few seconds. So I stand there thinking:

What do I feel like today? What are the options?

…but I can’t really see anything concrete. By the time my turn finally comes, it’s the first moment I can properly look at the menu.

At the same time, I can feel the subtle pressure from the situation:

  • A line of people is waiting behind me
  • The barista is ready to take my order
  • The flow of the queue is clearly important

In that mix of social pressure and time pressure, it becomes very hard to calmly explore options.

Almost every time, I end up going with a safe, familiar choice:

Okay… I’ll just get the usual.

In cafés where there are many drink types and customizations, choosing can be a big part of the experience.

But in this setup, the “choosing” part quietly gets squeezed out of the design.

Frictions & Possible Tweaks

Where the experience rubs, and small moves that could help.

1
Qfriction

No real chance to see the menu while waiting

During the wait, there is almost no stable place to read the menu:

  • No physical menu cards in the queue area
  • No static menu board that is easy to see from the line
  • Digital screens that show the menu as a fast-changing video

Because of that:

  • The waiting time is just dead time, not thinking time.
  • The only real chance to see the options is at the exact moment you reach the register.
  • That moment comes with social pressure to order quickly.

So the flow becomes:

  1. Wait without information
  2. Finally see the menu
  3. Feel rushed
  4. Default to a safe, easy choice

The café might not intend this, but the experience quietly teaches people:

You’re not really supposed to take time to choose here.

↓
+Possible Tweaks

Make a calm, always-visible menu part of the space

A small change in the environment could open up much more breathing room. For example:

  • Place a static (non-animated) menu board where people in the queue can see it.
  • Hang a simple menu above or behind the staff area that is readable from a distance.
  • If space is limited, at least keep a core menu permanently visible (not in a rotating slideshow).

The key is:

  • The menu doesn’t move or disappear.
  • People can look at it more than once while they wait.

That way:

  • Waiting time can double as quiet thinking time.
  • By the time a guest reaches the register, they already have a short list in mind.
  • Staff don’t need to rush or repeat the whole menu from scratch.

Even this simple level of visibility can change the emotional tone from:

I have to hurry and decide right now

to:

I’ve already had some time to think, now I just say it.

2
Qfriction

Choosing is treated as “holding up the line”

In the current pattern, the time spent choosing at the register easily feels like:

  • Holding other people back
  • Creating extra work for the staff
  • Something that should be minimized as much as possible

But for guests, thinking through:

  • What they feel like drinking today
  • Whether to try a seasonal item
  • Whether they want something hot, iced, stronger, lighter…

is a natural part of the visit.

Most people don’t want to be inconsiderate or block the queue. They just want a small, safe space to make a decision they’ll be happy with.

When that space is missing, they often end up with:

  • Slight regret (I actually wanted something else…)
  • Less curiosity to explore the menu in the future
↓
+Possible Tweaks

Treat “time to choose” as part of the service, and support it quietly

This doesn’t have to be a big campaign. Even small design choices can signal that it’s okay to take a moment. For example:

  • Make it easy to step slightly aside near the counter to look at the menu without blocking the line.
  • Keep one or two clear, static menus near the queue for people who like to plan ahead.
  • Encourage staff to use light phrases like:

Feel free to take a moment to look.

when the store is not extremely busy.

This tells guests, in practice:

Choosing is part of your experience here. You don’t have to apologize for taking a short moment to decide.

Over time, that can:

  • Make it easier for people to try new items.
  • Reduce low-level stress around ordering.
  • Create a more relaxed, repeatable pattern for both guests and staff.

Key Takeaways

A quick keyTakeaways you can reuse in your own work.

  • When menus are only visible at the register, waiting time cannot be used as choosing time.
  • A simple, static menu that’s visible from the queue can turn dead time into quiet decision-making time.
  • Guests often want to be considerate and choose something they truly want. Giving them a bit of safe space to decide supports both goals at once.
  • Treating time to choose as part of the service — not a problem to remove — can make the overall café experience feel calmer, more welcoming, and more repeatable.

SOLA Journal is a publication by SOLA Studio.